Broken
by artemis-golden-arrow
Summary: Bonnie trades herself to Klaus in exchange for Stefan's freedom. Klonnie - Bonnie/Klaus
1. Chapter 1

**AU from the end of 3x07, with elements of 3x08 (the history of the Originals) added in. **

**Rating: Eventual mature situations but not smutty, and occasional adult language**

**Warnings: (later chapters) character death, necrophilia (if sex with a vampire counts), eventual minor mind control/compulsion**

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Author's notes: I'll warn you now, I don't see Klonnie as a happily ever after, fluffy-type of pairing, so don't be surprised by any angst or drama you find inside. This story is completely written, but it's currently in the process of being beta-edited. I'll try to post one chapter a week until the editing is finished, and then I'll post twice a week until the entire story is online. A huge thank you to jazzywazzy08 for beta-editing this for me!**

**NOTE: Annabelle Johnson is Anna, I read somewhere that Johnson was the last name given to her in one of the newer books in the series.**

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Bonnie Bennett was surrounded by night. She didn't know how she'd gotten there, but all she could see was blackness as she stepped forward hesitantly. The ground was solid in front of her, and she reached an arm out in front of her, hoping her fingers would connect with anything that might be in front of her before she ran smack into it with her body.

She didn't know where she was. Her eyes began to adjust to the blackness. There was a bit of moonlight, but it was mostly hidden behind clouds, and the little light she had didn't illuminate much. She could vaguely make out the edges of some buildings, perhaps an alley to the right, but seeing more than a few feet in front of her was difficult, if not impossible.

Something clattered behind her, and she spun around, but she saw nothing, though she didn't find that surprising. She was tempted to call out, but she was afraid of what would answer. She turned back around to keep walking and slammed into something, something that hadn't been there just a minute before.

Or someone, more like. She stepped back and looked up into a handsome face with dark blond hair that looked black in the darkness. She could barely see his eyes in the shadows, but she could see the smirk forming on his full, too-pink lips, the dimples in his cheeks deepening in his amusement as he saw recognition dawning on her face. Recognition and fear.

"Klaus," she greeted, taking another step back to put a little more distance between them. It was all for her own need for space; she knew if he chose to attack her, the extra foot of distance wouldn't slow him down any. She let her disdain drip from her words, to disguise how her heart had started beating faster. She wasn't prepared for a face to face confrontation with the hybrid, and she certainly didn't want to let him know how much he scared her, especially now that she was no longer able to channel the power of a hundred dead witches.

"Hello, love," Klaus returned, stepping closer.

"Stay back," Bonnie warned him as she took another step away from him, her heart pounding furiously now. She knew he could probably hear her heart racing, but there was nothing she could do to prevent that now.

"And how do you plan to stop me?" Klaus asked, grinning at her.

Bonnie answered with a wave of her hand that should have sent him flying. Klaus didn't budge. She tried again, with the same result. Panic flooded her. What was going on? Why wasn't her magic working against him? She felt completely defenseless, and looking up at the approaching hybrid, she knew he was going to kill her.

Klaus stepped closer and reached a hand out to touch Bonnie's cheek. She brushed his fingers away, her eyes full of fire despite her fear. Why didn't he just get down to it? Why play games? Because in a thousand years, that's all he'd learned how to do.

_I'm going to die_, she thought. Nonetheless, this time she didn't step backwards. She could run, but he could run faster. No, she'd stand and face him. She would meet her death bravely.

Klaus grinned at the resolute expression on the young witch's face. "I'm not going to kill you," he told her, almost as if he could read her mind. "I'm going to have you."

This time, Bonnie did step back. "Excuse me?" Her fear had turned to anger. What the hell had he meant by that? _Have_ her? Was he saying what she thought he was?

"I mean you no harm," he told her, his expression turning serious. "But I find myself at a loss for witches of late. If you recall, your friends killed Maddox and Greta."

Bonnie opened her mouth to tell Klaus that technically, Damon was _not_ her friend, but she snapped her lips shut. No need to give him any more information than he already had. And some way or another, he always had more information than he should.

"And as you're the only witch I know of in the area..."

"I will never come to you," Bonnie told him, steeling her nerves. No. Way. In. Hell. "You can kill me for it, but I will never help you."

Klaus just laughed, and his voice chilled Bonnie to the bone. He walked around behind her, and she turned, determined not to give him easy access to her unprotected back. Finally he stopped and rested his hands on both of Bonnie's shoulders. She glared at him, but without her magic, she didn't dare push him too far.

"You _will_ come to me, Bonnie," he told her. "Because I have something of value. Something you want back." He slid his hands down her arms, which sent sparks running through her veins, until he had both of her hands in his. He lifted her right hand to his lips, pressed a soft kiss to the back of it, and then released her. He stepped back into the darkness and disappeared.

Bonnie gasped. And then she woke up.

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

Annabelle Johnson studied Bonnie as the other girl walked into her bedroom. She knew she shouldn't be there, but she couldn't help herself. Yes, she was a vampire. Well, technically, she was a _dead_ vampire. But whoever had said that ghosts couldn't feel guilt clearly hadn't known the first thing about being one.

She'd helped hurt Bonnie. She hadn't meant to, and she hadn't understood the extent of the relationship between Bonnie and Jeremy until after Jeremy had kissed her. She loved Jeremy, but so had Bonnie, and while it hadn't been directly her fault that the witch's heart had been broken, she still felt complicit in the betrayal. Had she not been around, had she not been drawn to Jeremy, Bonnie would never have been hurt.

So, she'd decided to take up residence in Bonnie's house for a while. She wouldn't be able to mend the girl's heart, because she knew nothing she could say would be likely to make Bonnie forgive Jeremy for his part in the betrayal, but maybe if she paid enough attention, she would find some way to make up for things in some small way.

Bonnie turned and glanced in the mirror. Anna held her breath, waiting for the witch to see her and zap her into the next millennium. But a moment later, Bonnie turned away and went over to her bed. Her cell phone started ringing. Anna watched, relieved to know Bonnie couldn't see her unless she wanted to be seen, as Bonnie answered her phone. From the scowl that crossed the witch's face and her greeting to the caller, she could tell it was someone Bonnie didn't like on the line.

"What do you want?" she heard Bonnie ask as the girl paced around her bed.

"And hello to you too, Judgy," the voice answered. Even though she was dead, Anna still had the super-sharp hearing of a vampire, and she could hear every word of both halves of the conversation.

"What do you want, Damon?"

Curious, Anna started paying closer attention. Knowing Damon, he wanted something from the witch, who was clearly reluctant to be speaking with him.

"Skipping the foreplay?" Damon asked. "You're no fun, Bonnie."

Bonnie frowned. "I'm hanging up now."

"Wait!"

Bonnie waited, but she didn't speak.

After a moment, Damon continued. "I have a plan."

Plan? Now Anna was interested. Maybe if she could help them with whatever plan Damon had in mind, she could partially make up for hurting Bonnie.

Bonnie sighed. Clearly she'd heard those words before. "And what kind of plan is that?" She sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Look, we've seen no sign of Mikael since Katherine awakened him," Damon began.

"Yeah?" Bonnie looked bored.

_This must all be old news to her_, Anna thought.

"And from all other sources," Damon said, "Klaus is unkillable."

"You're not telling me anything I don't already know," Bonnie pointed out.

"So I thought..." Damon paused.

Bonnie looked annoyed and impatient at Damon's game. Clearly he wanted her to drag the information out of him.

"You thought what?" Bonnie finally asked with a sigh.

"...we can re-curse him, and then dagger him."

Bonnie jumped to her feet, looking more alert than Anna had seen her since she'd arrived home.

"What?"

"Re-curse," Damon repeated.

"We'd need a spell for that," Bonnie pointed out. "A spell we don't have."

"I know," Damon said.

"And a blood sacrifice of some sort," Bonnie said. "Probably human. Like the first Petrova doppelganger."

"I know," Damon said.

"We can't kill someone to re-curse Klaus," Bonnie said, scowling.

"Stop trying to blow holes in my plan," Damon said. "We're already going to have plenty of problems."

"Like what?"

"Like finding the spell," Damon said. "Like finding you enough power to use the spell. Like finding another dagger, and a human who'll be close enough to use it on him."

"How on earth are we going to find that spell?" Bonnie asked. "The witch who used it on him died a thousand years ago."

"There are other sources," Damon answered.

"Who? Mikael?" Bonnie paused. "And possibly Elijah or Rebekah or another of the Originals? Why would any of them help us? And Mikael's AWOL. He's not going to help."

"Fine," Damon said. "It's not a perfect plan. But it's not like we have any better ones."

"I have an idea," Bonnie told him. "To get Stefan back."

Anna stopped listening and started thinking. She'd seen _her_, the one they'd been talking about. She knew where to find her. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to get the information they needed.

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

Bonnie was walking in darkness again, but this time she recognized it. She was in Mystic Falls, but one that existed outside the regular flow of time. A dream-Mystic Falls. She knew who had created it, and she knew who'd she'd find there.

She just didn't understand why he'd called her here again. Even though she'd had the wild idea that she could trade herself for Stefan's freedom, Damon had talked her out of it, pointing out the need for her to "level up" before she could take Klaus on again. As much as she hated to admit that Damon was right, she knew she wasn't ready to deal with Klaus in person just yet.

"Klaus?" she yelled, turning around as she walked to search for him. The lighting was still dismal, but things were more familiar. Despite her expectation, she still jumped when she bumped into the hybrid.

"Looking for me, love?" Klaus asked, smiling down at her. Bonnie realized how attractive he looked with the pleased grin deepening his dimples, but she buried the thought. She wasn't going to find him attractive. Not _him_, of all people.

"Why am I here again?" she asked, her dark eyes flashing with anger. "I already told you-"

"That you would never come to me," Klaus said, finishing her sentence for her. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair off Bonnie's face. She didn't flinch this time, but she was furious, and her expression reflected her feelings. "And yet, funny. Here you are."

"You brought me here," Bonnie reminded him. Klaus shrugged. "Why?"

"You know there's only one way you'll ever get your friend Stefan back," Klaus asked. "Don't you?"

Bonnie sucked in a quick breath. So, it was to be blackmail, then. Not that she hadn't already considered the idea, but for him to suggest it was a completely different deal.

"We can-"

"You can't," Klaus cut her off. He stepped around behind her, and she fought off the urge to turn and keep him away from her unguarded side. His face appeared next to her right cheek, and the scruff on his cheek brushed against her face as he spoke. "And you know it." She shivered as his breath tickled her skin. "Just as I know you'll come to me." His lips brushed her throat, and she flinched. "Willingly."

Bonnie stepped away and turned to face him.

"There's nothing _willing_ about it," she said. "_If_ I come to you, it will be because you've forced me into it."

"I'm not forcing anything, love," Klaus told her. "You have a choice."

_Yeah_, she thought angrily. _The choice to come to you, or the choice to leave Stefan under your influence. Some choices._

"You may not like the options," Klaus said, "but you do have more than one. What you choose to do with them is completely up to you."

Again, he backed away. Bonnie watched as he blended into the darkness and disappeared.

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

_Two days later._

Anna knew that Bonnie would not be happy to see her. But she had much to tell her, and she needed the witch part of her to listen, even if the teenage girl side of her hated her with a passion. That was why she'd been so desperate to get the girl's attention when she'd been gazing into the mirror, and that was how she'd managed to crack Bonnie's mirror from the inside.

"What the hell?" Bonnie asked, hearing the crunch of the cracking glass. She walked back over to her mirror and stared at the crack growing from the center of it. "How did that happen?" Veins of the crack kept growing, and although the mirror didn't shatter or fall apart, her reflection appeared just as broken as the mirror was, almost like one of Picasso's women.

Still, it took her a minute to realize that the eyes staring back at her were no longer her own. She jumped when she saw someone else's face reflected back at her.

"Don't be angry," Anna said, trying to mollify Bonnie before the witch had time to react to seeing her. "I'm here to help you."

"Like you helped me by kissing Jeremy?" Bonnie asked. Anna watched as she turned away and stalked across the room. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I have the spell you need," Anna answered.

"What spell?" Bonnie asked. She looked suspicious, and Anna couldn't blame her. The witch didn't trust her.

"The spell to re-curse Klaus," Anna told her.

"How do you...?"

"I overheard you and Damon speaking about it a couple of days ago," Anna said.

"You were here then?"

"Yes," Anna said. "And I went to find Esther."

Anna watched as Bonnie's eyes widened. "The Original Witch."

"Yes," Anna said. "She's over here. I told her what you wanted to do, and she gave me the spell, so I could give it to you."

Bonnie still looked like she didn't trust what Anna was telling her. "Why would she give you the spell? And why should I believe anything you have to say?"

Anna sighed. She'd known this was coming, but she'd hoped Bonnie would be less stubborn. "She gave me the spell because she's never wanted Klaus to gain his werewolf abilities. And you should believe me, because I can give you the list of ingredients that need gathering. What is needed for the sacrifice. And where to find a way to amplify your powers."

The last bit caught Bonnie's attention, and Anna saw her perk up a little bit.

"And how will you do that?"

"I know the location of an amulet," Anna told her. "The Eye of the Jackal. It's a magic amplifier."

Bonnie nodded.

"But it's dangerous, too," Anna warned her. "There are side effects."

Caroline Forbes, one of Bonnie's two best friends, stepped into her room just after Anna said this, but it was clear she'd been listening since she'd arrived at the house.

"I'm willing to try it," Bonnie answered, nodding at Anna. A quick glance at Caroline told her that her friend didn't approve, but Bonnie knew she had to take the chance while she had it. "Lead me to this amulet, and if it does what you say it will, then I'll get the spell from you."

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

Caroline pounded at the open doorway, trying desperately to get out of the house. Normally, it was a wall keeping her _out_ of a house that was the problem, not the other way around. But Bonnie had left in such a determined hurry, and completely against Caroline's advice, that Caroline had only one possible way to stop the witch from following the ghost girl's instructions; overpowering her friend. However, that hadn't gone so well, as Bonnie had shielded first herself from the vampire, and then her escape route, effectively locking Caroline into the house until she chose to release her.

Nonetheless, Caroline ineffectually slammed her hands against the invisible barrier, determined to find a way to stop her friend from making a terrible mistake. Either Anna was leading her into a trap, or if not, then Bonnie was going to walk into the lion's den unprotected, and either route could end in disaster for her human friend. Caroline didn't trust Anna, but she feared Klaus; neither way seemed to provide a positive outcome.

Caroline slammed her hands against the barrier again, stumbling over the threshold, only just managing to right herself before she would make an unceremonious face-plant onto the porch. She was free! She took a deep breath, momentarily enjoying the cool autumn breeze and thready sunshine, before she remembered what she had planned out to do as soon as she was free. Sucking in a deep breath, she sped off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Two**

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

Elena Gilbert opened the door of the Salvatore Boarding House, and Caroline breezed past her into the building.

"Caroline, what's-"

"Bonnie's done something stupid," Caroline blurted out, in a hurry but far from winded.

"Bonnie?"

"What's wrong?"

"What's Judgy gone and done now?"

Jeremy, Alaric, and Damon were seated in chairs or on the sofa in the living room as Elena led her blonde vampire friend over to the group; Stefan preferred to sit alone at the far end of the room, keeping a close eye on Elena. Caroline leaned against the arm of the sofa.

"She followed Jeremy's doubly dead girlfriend on a quest to find a magical amulet that's supposed to double her powers," Caroline, giving Jeremy a bit of the old stink-eye, told them.

"Anna?" Jeremy asked, paling.

"Why would Bonnie do that?" Elena asked, leaning on the arm of a nearby chair. "And why would Anna help her?"

"Maybe she felt guilty for stealing Bonnie's boyfriend?" Damon smirked, then shrugged when Jeremy gave him a dirty look. "Just saying. Maybe she wanted to give something back."

"I don't trust her," Caroline said. "Right after she explained what this amulet could do, Bonnie took off with her."

"And why didn't you stop her?" Damon asked, intentionally needling Caroline. It never took much to get under the skin of Vampire Barbie.

"I tried," Caroline answered, ignoring the taunt. She was starting to get used to Damon's barbs. She explained how Bonnie had barricaded her into the house. "As soon as she let me go, I came over here."

"Sounds like she knows exactly what she's doing," Stefan threw in from across the room.

Elena's jaw tightening was the only clue to her irritation with the Klaus-compelled version of the vampire she loved. Damon, on the other hand, just rolled his eyes.

"What's she searching for?" Stefan asked.

"The Eye of the-"

"Jackal," Stefan finished; he'd heard of the talisman. Interesting choice of items for Anna to be leading a witch towards.

"Eye of the Jackal?" Alaric asked. "What does that thing do?"

"It's rumored to not only double a witch's powers," Damon answered, "but it also makes her tougher against wolves. Or werewolves."

"Or hybrids?" Jeremy wondered. "Like Klaus, and Tyler?"

"After she gets this thing, she's going to go face off with Klaus," Caroline added.

"Sounds like a fight I'd like to see," Damon said.

Elena gave the older Salvatore brother a scowl. "If she survives the trip with Anna," she pointed out. Despite her brother's faith in Anna, she still wasn't convinced that the trip was legit, and not just a trap to rid her of her romantic rival.

"Hey!"

"Your objection is overruled," Damon told Jeremy.

"You don't know that Anna will hurt her," Jeremy announced. "She's not like that. She's a good person."

"Vampire," Elena corrected. Anna hadn't been a person in hundreds of years.

"Ghost," Damon pointed out. "And ghosts aren't necessarily sweet and tame little things. The last one I met tried barbecueing me."

"That's because you ripped his heart out," Jeremy objected. "That's not Anna."

"Funny how you're more concerned over your ghost girlfriend than the girl who's heart _you_ ripped out," Damon noted. "But wait, Bonnie's still alive."

"For now," Caroline finished.

"Of course I care about Bonnie," Jeremy said, flushing with anger. They didn't need to keep bringing up his betrayal of Bonnie with every breath. "But I think you're all just overreacting. Anna won't hurt her."

"Klaus can," Elena observed. "And he will." She glanced over at Stefan, who was pretending to read some sort of book or journal. She knew that he was far more interested in their conversation than he was letting on. "We need to stop Bonnie before she gets to him."

"We don't know where the King of the Hybrids is staying these days," Damon pointed out.

"No," Elena agreed. "But Stefan does."

Stefan looked up. "My job is simply to protect you," he reminded her.

"Right," Elena said. "And I'm going to go find Klaus. So either you can help me, or you can stay here and wait for me to come back."

Stefan was at Elena's side before she could blink.

"You know I can't do that," Stefan told her.

"Can't help me?" Elena asked. She glanced over at the small silver dagger laying on the end table nearest Damon, thinking that anywhere else, the weapon would look very out of place, but not here.

Stefan followed her glance. "Let's not play that game," he told her, reading her thoughts as easily as the journals over by his desk. "Klaus needs you alive."

"And I need Bonnie safe," Elena told him. "You need Klaus to be safe. So, you'll take me to him? Or at least help me intercept Bonnie before she reaches him?"

Stefan struggled with an answer for a minute. Klaus would be pissed that he had brought Elena there, but he would likely appreciate an attempt at Stefan protecting him. At worst, he'd enjoy having an audience for his destruction of the witch.

"All right," he agreed. "But just you."

His words caused an uproar; both Caroline and Jeremy were insistent upon going, and Alaric was determined to go to protect Elena from her _protector_.

"Jer, you're not going," Elena told him.

"I have my ring," he argued.

"And the minute you open your mouth, Bonnie will be tempted to turn you into a frog," Damon snarked from the sofa; he was stretched out, enjoying the battle. He had no interest in going to watch the witch commit suicide against Klaus.

"If you try to talk her out of this," Elena said, "she'll more than likely do exactly the opposite of what you ask." Her words stung, but Jeremy knew Elena wasn't telling him this because she was angry with him for betraying her best friend. She just wanted her to be safe. "You hurt her, and she won't listen to you."

"I know, but-"

"I'm going," Caroline told Elena.

"So am I," Alaric said, stepping up to the small standing group.

"Fine," Stefan said, frustrated that no one was listening to his decree that only Elena would be going. "Let's go."

The two vampires and the two humans headed for the door.

"Looks like it's just you and me," Damon told Jeremy, who was watching unhappily as the others left without him.

"I'm going to go find Matt," Jeremy answered. "See what he's up to."

"Right," Damon snarked. "Go find the brother of your _other_ ex."

A moment later, Damon was alone.

"Finally!" he said to the empty house. Part of him regretted letting Elena leave with the others, but once that girl got an idea into her head, there was no stopping her. He sighed, bored with no one around left to taunt. He stalked over to Stefan's desk, grabbed the book his brother had been reading, and threw himself into a chair.

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

Bonnie swallowed as she stared up at the eight foot doors on the building in front of her, finding much irony in the fact that Klaus had chosen a church - _a church!_ - of all places, to take up residence in. _So much for hallowed ground._ Anna had led her here just after they discovered the amulet. She'd only just released Caroline, knowing that her friend would run straight to Elena, and that Elena would come running, Stefan in tow. She needed Stefan to be there. Both Tyler and Rebekah were inside with Klaus, and heaven only knew how many vampires were there. But they didn't matter. Only Klaus, and what she wanted from him, mattered.

The Eye of the Jackal nested warmly between her breasts. Initially to her eyes, the gem had looked black, but once she rolled it around in her hands, with the sunshine glinting off it, she could see it was a luscious dark blue. The setting was made of platinum, mimicking the werewolf's weakness to silver, but not being the deadly metal.

With a deep breath, Bonnie shoved the doors of the church wide open and stepped inside. She stalked into the church without waiting for an invitation. She wanted to get this over with as quickly as she could, because she knew the others would be on their way to stop her, and the sooner she made the deal, the better off they would all be.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust; the lighting inside was modest at best, and only a few candles in the nooks along the outer walls flickered, giving the church as creepy an atmosphere as it could get. At the front of the church, sitting on the altar, was the blonde-haired Original vampire Rebekah. Tyler stood to her left, and he didn't look happy about being there. A number of vampires stood sentry around the room, and while they'd clearly been expecting her, they hadn't figured she'd burst right into the church with no preamble.

Four of the vampires rushed her. Between her anger at Klaus for forcing her into this decision, and the amplification from the amulet, what normally would have been a simple tossing about of vampires ended up being much harsher, and the four vampires disintegrated to ash as her magic touched them.

"Impressive."

Bonnie turned and spotted Klaus above and behind her in the balcony. He was smiling. A moment later, he stood in front of her. Something, he realized, felt different about his witch, but he couldn't put a finger on what that was.

_Yet._

"Welcome, Bonnie," he said, turning with an arm outstretched, "to my humble abode."

"Let's get this over with," she grumbled, hating him for his cheery mood. She was less than thrilled about making the exchange, but she knew it would be worth it in the end. Nonetheless, he didn't have to be so happy about it.

"What's your hurry, love?" Klaus asked. "Are your friends on their way to talk you out of this?"

Bonnie glared at him instead of answering. "Me, for Stefan and Tyler."

"And Tyler?" Klaus repeated, feigning surprise that Bonnie would make that demand. He knew she'd do anything for her friends, and getting back blondie's boyfriend was just as important to her as getting back the doppelganger's. "You are asking a lot."

"That's the only way you get me," Bonnie said. She wasn't going to back down. If he wanted her, he was going to have to give her exactly what she wanted in return.

Klaus pretended to think about it for a minute before turning to her. "Done."

"But I have some ground rules first," Bonnie added, determined not to get railroaded in the dealmaking.

Klaus smirked. "Of course you do, love. I didn't expect anything else."

"First, we leave Mystic Falls," Bonnie told him. The sooner she could get him away from her friends, the safer they would be.

"Done," Klaus agreed, as if that hadn't been his plan all along.

"Second, I will only help you and stay with you as long as you don't use your abilities against me," Bonnie continued. "No compulsion, no biting, or anything else you have that makes you more than human."

Klaus smirked. "And...?"

"You won't harm any of my friends, either directly or indirectly," Bonnie said. "That means you can't send your hybrids or anything to hurt them after we're gone."

"Fabulous," Klaus said, pleased to have come to terms with his witch.

"One last thing," Bonnie cut his celebration off. "You won't harm an unwilling human being in front of me."

"Bonn-"

"I will defend that person to either your death or mine," Bonnie finished. "You attack them, or you attack me, and the deal is broken."

"And you will stay by my side until that point?" Klaus asked, determined to at least get some say in the negotiations. Bonnie didn't look happy, but she nodded, and as she lowered her head, the amulet she was wearing slipped out of the neck of her shirt, and if Klaus had a heart, it would have stopped.

_The Eye of the Jackal!_

No wonder the witch had felt different to him. He'd been trying to get hold of that pendant for months, but no one had any clue where it had disappeared to. He'd traced it as far as having been locked into the tomb in the 1860s, but it hadn't been inside when he'd searched. He'd wondered if Katherine or one of the Salvatores had found it, but there'd been at least a dozen vampires locked away in the tomb, so it could have gone in just about any direction. Apparently his witch had known the right vampire to speak to in order to gain it.

And now, at least, it was in his possession, even if he couldn't actually take control of it until the witch's death. Her natural death, or until he could convince her to willingly hand it over to him.

Klaus smiled, and it was a scary smile. He had both things he wanted in his grasp. A powerful fledgling witch, and the amulet.

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

"A church?" Elena asked as Stefan pulled his car to a stop.

"Yes, a church," he answered. "Where better to hide from anyone hunting vampires?"

Elena shrugged as she got out of the car. "Well, I guess he's had plenty of practice hiding from them."

"Can we even go inside?" Caroline asked as she followed suit, climbing out from beside Alaric in the backseat. "Surely that whole 'God will smite the unholy' thing applies to us, doesn't it?"

"They're just words," Stefan told her. "Things made up by unholy men trying to cover up their own sins by literally putting the fear of God into their followers."

"Still," Caroline hesitated. "You can go in first."

Alaric patted her on the shoulder as he followed Stefan and Elena towards the doors. After a moment's hesitation, Caroline, quickly catching up to her friends, began walking towards the church.

Elena put her hand on the door handle, but before she could open the door, Stefan stopped her.

"It'll probably be better if I lead the way," he told her. She pulled her hand free, and Stefan swung the door open. As he took a step into the church, he stopped dead, an invisible wall keeping him out. "What the hell?" He'd thought only homes with living owners could keep him out.

"Bonnie," Caroline whispered. "She must already be inside."

Elena reached out to see if maybe she, as a human, could pass through the barrier. Her hand struck the clear wall as well.

"Bonnie!" She pounded on the barricade. "Don't do it!"

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

Klaus had led Bonnie into a back room behind the pulpit, away from the rest of the church. Away from her friend Tyler, who she was determined to free; away from his sister, who was determined to free Bonnie from her life.

"We're alone," Klaus told her. "You can tell me how your magic suddenly became so...fierce."

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow. _Fierce?_ "I've been practicing."

"Fine," Klaus said. "Keep your secrets." He walked behind Bonnie, who fought her inner instinct to turn around and watch him; she knew he was testing her.

"Are you afraid of me, Bonnie?" he asked, so close to her ear she could feel his breath tickle the hairs inside her ear. He wasn't touching her, but at this distance, she could sense his presence in every pore. She fought back a shiver. He was positioned almost exactly like he had been her dream, and she'd felt the electricity between them in her mind then; it was even stronger in the flesh.

Bravely, she turned her face just enough that she could see his eyes. "Yes," she answered, wishing that her heart wasn't hammering so fast. There was no point in lying to him; he had to be able to hear her blood pulsing through her veins in response to his nearness. He'd know she wasn't telling the truth in a heartbeat.

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

After having no luck at finding Matt, Jeremy headed back to his house. Almost as soon as he reached his room, he sensed a familiar presence behind him, and he turned around to face Anna, who was peering out of his mirror at him.

"I'm glad you're back," she told him with a smile.

Jeremy, however, wasn't nearly as happy to see her.

"Where did you take Bonnie?" he asked, anger filling his voice. He was sick with worry over her; even though she'd ended their relationship over his stupidity, she hadn't ended his feelings for her. "I know she went to confront Klaus."

"Jeremy..."

"Where, Anna?"

"To Fell's Church, on the other side of-"

"I know where it is," Jeremy, still fairly angry, cut her off. "What were you thinking?" Despite his defense of her to his friends, he couldn't help but wonder why Anna had felt the need to seek Bonnie out, couldn't help wonder if it had to do with his feelings for Bonnie. If anything happened to Bonnie, he'd never forgive himself, or Anna.

"Jeremy, I'm sorry," Anna apologized, walking over. She took his hand and pulled him to sit next to her on his bed. "I got curious, so I went over and watched Bonnie for a while. She never saw me, until I showed myself to her earlier."

Jeremy looked confused.

"Why were you watching Bonnie?" he asked.

"Because I felt bad," Anna answered. "We hurt her. She would go to this ...place... in the woods. She would keep a brave face on in front of everyone else, but when she was alone... She loved you, and you broke her heart, Jeremy."

_The kiss. _That _damned_ kiss.

"She never gave me a chance to explain," Jeremy defended his actions. "To tell her that things weren't the way-"

"They looked?" Anna asked. The tone of her voice told Jeremy that he'd said the wrong thing; it seemed like lately, all he ever said was the wrong thing.

"Anna..." As Jeremy watched, Anna disappeared from sight. "Anna?" She didn't reply, didn't reappear. "Dammit!" Jeremy flung the backpack off his bed and took a deep breath, then he raced down the stairs. He had to make certain that Bonnie was okay.

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

Elena was leaning against the door of the church staring in at Rebekah, who was sitting on a small table near the pulpit. The vampire _knew_ that she, Stefan, Caroline, and Alaric were trying to get inside, but she was ignoring them. Likely, she was just as trapped as they were; however they wanted to get in, and she couldn't get out.

"What is taking so long?" Elena opined, worry for her friend staining her words. She'd seen Bonnie disappear with Klaus, and neither had reappeared. Each minute felt like a year as she stood outside, desperate to get in.

"She'll be fine," Caroline said, trying to reassure Elena. But despite her typical optimism, she was fairly worried, as well. They'd been waiting outside the church for almost twenty minutes, and there'd been no sign of either Bonnie or the Original Vampire she'd come to confront.

"I'm going to guess that as long as we can't go inside, Bonnie's still fine," Alaric pointed out. "If something had happened, she'd either divert her magic in order to fight, or she'd be..."

"Just fine, and walking out of the back room behind Klaus?" Stefan suggested.

Elena gave him a dirty look. "That's not funny."

Stefan nodded towards the pulpit, where Klaus and Bonnie had just emerged from a door nearby; Rebekah, on the other hand, had disappeared.

"Bonnie!" Elena shouted. She pounded on the barricade to get her friend's attention. The witch looked up, and the barrier dissolved under Elena's hands. She barreled into the church, followed closely by Caroline, who stopped dead in the doorway when she spotted Tyler off to the left; she hadn't seen him until Bonnie's barrier had disappeared.

Elena sprinted past Klaus and slammed into Bonnie with a worried hug that almost knocked both girls off their feet. Bonnie hugged back, but she was mentally preparing herself for the scene that was sure to erupt when she told Elena what she'd done.

While Elena was hugging Bonnie, and Caroline was wrapped in Tyler's arms in the corner, Klaus strode directly up to Stefan.

"I'm sorry," Stefan said, hoping to appease Klaus. Klaus had specifically asked that Elena not know the whereabouts of his hideout, and he was certain to be furious.

Except, he didn't seem to be.

"I release you," Klaus told Stefan, staring into his eyes. At his words, Stefan collapsed, the compulsion gone, and only Alaric grabbing him kept him from landing on the floor.

"Stefan!" Elena pulled out of Bonnie's arms and ran over to the dazed vampire. "What did you do to him?"

"I removed the compulsion binding him to me," Klaus told her. "He's free to go. As is Tyler."

Elena, stunned, just stared at Klaus. "Why? Why would you do this?"

"Because," Klaus answered, "Bonnie made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Bonnie?" Elena looked confused and scared. "What did you do?"

"Nothing you wouldn't have done," Bonnie answered. "Something I had to do."

"Take him and go," Klaus instructed. "Before I change my mind."

Elena looked stricken. "Bonnie...?"

"Just go!"

Bonnie stepped around from behind Klaus as Alaric readjusted his grip on Stefan, shouldering more of his weight while Elena took the other side. Bonnie helped them stagger towards the main door. Caroline and Tyler met them there.

"What's Klaus talking about?" Elena asked.

"I made a choice," Bonnie answered, not giving any more details.

"Did he threaten you?" the dark-haired girl asked.

Bonnie shook her head before realizing that Elena couldn't see her; her friend was studying the path ahead for any potential pitfalls. "No," she answered. "No threats. He and Rebekah are leaving Mystic Falls." She paused, knowing that Elena would not take her next words well. "And I'm going with them."

"No, Bonnie," Elena said, stopping in her tracks. She released Stefan, and Alaric headed out the door supporting the vampire by himself. "It's too dangerous. They'll kill you."

"Maybe," Bonnie answered. "Maybe not. But it's too dangerous to let them stay here, and to let them keep attacking you and Stefan, Caroline, Tyler." She swallowed. "Klaus gave me his word that he would leave you all alone, amongst other things."

"You can't trust him," Elena said. "He wants my blood-"

"You trusted Elijah," Bonnie, taking a deep breath, pointed out. "Even after you and Alaric stabbed him with that dagger, you still trusted him to keep his word."

"That was Elijah," Elena noted. "And I still had to word my deal perfectly, because if there was a loophole, he might find it and exploit it, like he did with Rose and her friend. Klaus-"

"Has to be given the same chance to keep his word," Bonnie said. "While you were at the hospital, he had the nurses take several bags of your blood. I convinced him to keep that in a safe location, and then he won't need you anytime soon. As for protecting myself, I'm not defenseless against him."

"I know, Bonnie, but..." Elena bit her lip. "You're giving up your freedom, maybe your life, on such an uncertain future. I just...I feel guilty. It should be me."

Bonnie smiled half-heartedly as she shook her head at her friend's martyr complex. "I would have died to keep you safe from him before. I'm basically doing the same thing, only with a better chance of survival this time."

Elena sprang forward and hugged her friend tight. "This is crazy. Is there anything I can say to talk you out of it?"

"I made a deal with Klaus," Bonnie answered, shaking her head. "It's too late for take-backs."

"Promise me you'll be careful," Elena told her, staring into Bonnie's dark eyes. Both girls had unshed tears welling up in their eyes. "That you'll call and check in regularly, let me know you're okay."

"I will," Bonnie promised, giving Elena a last hug. "You'd better go, get Stefan home."

"If you need anything..." Elena said, stopping in the church doorway.

"I know," Bonnie answered, giving her friend one last smile before Elena left the church.

"That was _touching_," Klaus said, walking over to Bonnie after Elena was gone. "Friendship is just _so_ amazing. So..._inspiring_. I'm sure you and I will be great _friends_."

Despite her fear, Bonnie stared hard up into Klaus's eyes. She was annoyed by the amused glint in his expression, and her annoyance filled her words.

"I agreed to be your companion," Bonnie told him. "_Not_ your friend."

"Duly noted," Klaus said, shrugging off her irritation with him and striding past her back towards the pulpit. "If there are any things you'd like to gather from your home, now's the time to do it."

"We're leaving so soon?" Bonnie asked, surprised. She figured it would take at least a day to get his and Rebekah's possessions moved. "Where are we going?"

"Why does it matter?" Klaus teased, turning back to face Bonnie, who had begun to follow him towards the pulpit. "As long as it isn't here?"

"It's hard to pack appropriately when you don't know where you're going," Bonnie pointed out. "Warm clothes for cold weather? Or are we headed somewhere temperate?"

"I haven't had a chance to think that far ahead yet," Klaus admitted. "After all, we only just struck our bargain, and I wasn't planning on leaving this soon. So...better pack for both, just in case."

"That will double the amount I'll have to bring," Bonnie said.

Klaus shrugged. "No worries. I'm sure we'll be able to fit it in."

Bonnie was just about to ask, _into what?_, when the church doors slammed open, and she spun around, surprised. Rebekah was in the doorway, holding Jeremy in a sort of headlock. Her breath caught.

_Not him. Not Jeremy._

"Look what I found snooping around the church," Rebekah announced. "Pesky little one."

"Bonnie..." Jeremy whispered as loud as he could. His eyes expressed the worry he was feeling for her better than his voice was able.

"Let him go," Bonnie said, her heart hammering into her throat; she could barely breathe from fear, and she wanted to cry. Jeremy had broken her heart not that long ago, but of course, he had to show up and try to rescue her; if nothing else, he couldn't seem to break the crazy habit he had of trying to protect her when she didn't need his protection.

"Doubtful," Rebekah answered as Jeremy struggled unsuccessfully to free himself. Rebekah wasn't even straining to hold him still.

"Release the boy," Klaus said from behind Bonnie. "Send him on home."

"That's no fun, Nik," Rebekah answered, shifting just enough that Bonnie relaxed a little bit. And then she snapped Jeremy's neck.

Klaus had Rebekah slammed against the church wall faster than Bonnie could react to Jeremy's body hitting the floor. She heard none of Klaus's words as she raced over to Jeremy, but she could tell he was furious with his sister.

Bonnie bent and cradled Jeremy's head as tears leaked out of her eyes. She wiped them away angrily, and then her eyes sought out his hand, which - fortunately - was wearing the Gilbert ring that would revive him from death caused by a supernatural entity. She glanced up to see that Klaus was alone; Rebekah must have slipped out of the church while she had been distracted by Jeremy. _Lucky for Rebekah_, she thought.

"Go get your things right now," Klaus told her. "We leave in an hour." Bonnie realized that he wasn't upset with her, but his anger scared her into motion anyway. Reluctantly, she slipped her legs from beneath Jeremy and gently arranged him in a comfortable position, climbed to her feet, and followed Klaus out of the church.

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**

Klaus finished reading over the contract handed to him by Bonnie, and he laughed. "Do you really expect me to sign this?"

Bonnie, on the other hand, found it no laughing matter. She'd typed it up before going to the church, and she'd made a couple of other amendments to it before gathering some of her things into her duffel bag. She'd barely been ready when Klaus and Rebekah had pulled up to her house in a large moving truck.

"If you don't sign it, I don't go with you," Bonnie answered simply. "Elena trusted Elijah's words, but I'm not sure I can trust yours."

"Of course you can trust me, Bonnie," Klaus almost purred at her.

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Then sign it. Prove it."

Klaus sighed. "I could just make you come with me," he told her.

"If you think so, give it a shot," Bonnie, fighting back a flutter of fear, answered bravely. She was getting faster with her magic, but Klaus was a thousand years old, and she wasn't sure she was a match for him, even with the amulet. "But then you'd be breaking our agreement, and I'd be free not to go with you."

Klaus sighed again. "Fine. Pen?"

Bonnie had come prepared, and she handed one over.

"What's taking so long?" Rebekah yelled out of the passenger side window.

"We'll just be a minute," Klaus answered her as he scribbled his name onto the contract. He handed it and the pen back to Bonnie. "Are you happy now?"

Happy wasn't the word Bonnie would use to describe it, but she nodded.

"Then let's go," Klaus answered, directing her to the front of the truck.

Bonnie didn't move. "I'm not riding up front between two of the oldest vampires in existence."

Klaus almost growled. "Fine." He hauled the back door to the truck bed open. "Get in." Bonnie hesitated, and Klaus repeated himself.

"But..."

Klaus slammed the door shut over Bonnie's protests, and he stalked around front and hopped into the cab beside his sister.

"Where's the witch?" Rebekah asked.

"She's in the back with our things," Klaus answered, slamming the door and starting the engine. He pulled out into traffic, and they were on their way.

"Why are we bringing her with us, anyway?"

"Because she has something I want," Klaus answered.

"More than you wanted Stefan's companionship?" Rebekah questioned. "More than you wanted your hybrid army, starting with Tyler?"

"Yes," Klaus answered sharply, turning towards the highway.

"So..." Rebekah was practically itching with curiosity. "What is it?"

Klaus didn't answer. But he knew. He knew about Bonnie's special piece of jewelry, the Eye of the Jackal. He'd killed the original Jackal, and a witch had imbued the amulet with the jackal's energy and strength. He knew what the amulet could do: it could negate much of a vampire's powers, and it even negated some of a werewolf's abilities. Beyond that, it would amplify the abilities of a witch, as it had done for Bonnie, who had somehow found the piece, and only recently, as he could sense the amulet's presence when he hadn't been able to just a few weeks ago. She hadn't had it when he'd visited her dreams the last time.

The Eye of the Jackal could be used against Mikael, in order to shield him against his step-father, the man who had hunted him for centuries, and who had haunted his life and his nightmares for even longer. Mikael, who knew that he and Rebekah were in Mystic Falls and might soon arrive to haunt Klaus some more. It would give protection against the white oak stake Mikael possessed.

Klaus needed the talisman, but he couldn't simply take the amulet from Bonnie; the Eye of the Jackal didn't work like that. The amulet couldn't be taken by force, it had to be given freely, from one possessor to another. He couldn't compel Bonnie to give it to him, as vampire compulsion was negated against the wearer. He couldn't kill Bonnie to attain it, as any unnatural death to the possessor would destroy the amulet forever, which would die along with the wearer it had bonded to. Either he had to be patient, and wait for Bonnie to die a slow, natural death, and even protect her life from any sort of violent death, or he had to convince her to give the amulet to him. Either way, the witch had to come along. And she had to be protected.

"Nik...?" Rebekah prompted when she didn't get her answer.

"A weapon, Bekah," Klaus answered, not taking his eyes off the road. "One we have to take very special care of."

**BKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBK**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews, guys! My beta only has one more part to check, and then I'll start posting this twice a week.**

**Chapter Three**

. . . .

. . . .

Jeremy woke up to a familiar face leaning over him, but it was a face he'd prefer to have much farther away than the few inches it was.

"Damon?" he asked, struggling to sit up. This dying and coming back to life thing was making him feel much older than he really was.

"When Elena couldn't find you at home, she got worried," Damon told him before helping him to his feet. "I told her I'd come find you."

"Did Bonnie...?"

"Go with our favorite Original vampire family?" Damon asked. "Looks that way. I stopped by her house first, but it was empty, and most of her clothing was gone."

"Why'd she do it?" Jeremy asked, leaning against one of the pews for support.

"Other than looking for a nice change of scenery?" Damon asked. "Or a chance to get away from her annoyingly stalkerish cheating ex-boyfriend?"

"You're a dick," Jeremy told him.

Damon smirked. "She traded herself to free both Stefan and Tyler," the vampire told him. "And Klaus accepted the deal. Which makes me wonder what she has..." The smirk momentarily faltered as Damon thought things that would probably have made Jeremy hit him had he been able to read his mind, before he focused back on the likely more accurate reasons, "...that would make Klaus pick her over a compelled vampire servant and a sired hybrid fighting machine."

"She's a witch," Jeremy pointed out.

"But witches are a dime a dozen," Damon answered. "She has to have something that would make her appealing to him. Other than a pretty face and a perky-"

Jeremy swatted him before he could finish.

"I was going to say, perky personality," Damon said.

"Sure you were," Jeremy answered. "I need to talk to Anna."

"Your other girlfriend," Damon snarked.

"She led Bonnie to whatever this amulet thing is," Jeremy pointed out. "Maybe she knows more about it than we do."

. . . .

. . . .

Once Bonnie got adjusted to the speed and movement of the truck, she made her way towards the front. There were piles of boxes, including some huge wooden crates, scattered around the truck bed, but there was an open path down the middle, and she swayed towards the front, reaching to balance herself on the boxes as the truck would shift to the right or the left. Finding a large blanket on top of one of the crates near the front, she grabbed it, wrapped herself up, and sat down against the front wall.

Before she could get seated, she felt her cell phone vibrate. She pulled it out of her pocket and settled into place, and then she glanced at the phone.

It was a text from Elena.

"Are you all right?" her best friend had asked. A ghost of a smile flitted across Bonnie's face before disappearing. Reality was starting to sink in; she'd left her friends and family behind, to tag along with a pair of murdering vampire psychopaths. Yes, she'd freed up Stefan and Tyler to protect her friends, but who was going to protect her?

"I am," Bonnie whispered to herself before texting back that she was, that she wasn't sure where they were headed, but that she'd gotten Klaus to sign a written contract.

Just after she sent the message, her phone vibrated again. A call from Jeremy.

Part of her was relieved that he was awake and still alive after Rebekah had snapped his neck. But the other part was scared and confused, and hurt. Jeremy had screwed up, and screwed up royally, and despite her feelings for him, she wasn't sure she could trust him anymore, or if she could trust herself around him. She let the call go to voicemail.

. . . .

. . . .

It was hours before the truck stopped. Bonnie woke with a start, as she'd fallen asleep with nothing to do to keep her awake.

The truck door opened, and she was on her feet.

"We're stopping for the night," Klaus announced. "We have two rooms waiting for us." He reached a hand out to help Bonnie down from the truck bed, but she ignored it and climbed out on her own, missing the scowl that flickered across the hybrid's face.

Bonnie looked around. "Where are we?" Nothing looked remotely familiar, but there was no reason it should, she figured. They were hundreds of miles from Mystic Falls, and their housing for the night was a cheap-looking no-tell motel, but at least there was no Bates-like house on the hill above it. Across the road was what looked like a small diner that was open all night. _Good_, Bonnie thought. _I'm starving_.

"Why do you want to know that?" Klaus asked, shutting the truck door. "So you can tell your little friends where we are? So they can come rescue you?"

"I don't need rescuing," Bonnie told him. They both knew she was in this for the long haul. Unless he broke their agreement, she would stay with him. If she broke it, not only was her life forfeit, she knew Klaus would turn Mystic Falls into a blood bath.

"Give me your phone," Klaus ordered.

"Why?" Bonnie asked, wrapping her fingers tightly around the gadget.

"Just give me your phone," Klaus insisted. Bonnie realized the quieter he was, the far more dangerous he was. She handed over her cell, only to watch him crush it into pieces.

"What are you doing?"

"Your friends can no longer track you using your phone," Klaus told her. "And unless you remember their cell numbers by heart, you can no longer call them, either." He started to walk past her to go to the motel.

"Wait!" Bonnie grabbed his arm, which she knew was a mistake as soon as she did it, and she quickly released her hold. "You're going out hunting tonight, aren't you?"

"You don't want to know the answer to that, do you?" Klaus answered, lifting up a key. "Room 6. Your room." He dropped the key into Bonnie's hand.

"I'm going over to the diner first," Bonnie told him.

"Fine," Klaus answered, knowing that the witch wouldn't be stupid enough to try and escape. "But make sure you get some rest. We leave early tomorrow."

Bonnie nodded and slipped the key into the pocket of her hoodie. She watched as Klaus disappeared between the buildings of the motel and into the night.

. . . .

. . . .

When Bonnie woke up, she was surprised to discover that she was alone in her room; Rebekah had come in sometime during the wee hours, quietly, but not so quietly that Bonnie hadn't heard her. She'd cleaned up, and then she'd sprawled out on the second bed. Somehow, she'd not only managed to awaken before Bonnie, she'd also slipped out of the room unnoticed, something Bonnie hadn't expected. She wasn't used to having stealthy vampires so close to her while she was vulnerable, but she figured she'd get used to it, and probably better at reacting to it with time.

Klaus came walking into the room just as she was finishing her morning routine. All she had left to do was pull her hair back into a ponytail, and that only took her a minute to do.

"We're leaving in five," he announced, sitting down on the bed Bonnie had used the night before.

"I'm ready," she told him as she stepped out of the bathroom. Despite the cheapness of the motel, there were at least enough clean towels and washcloths to suffice, and she was as pulled together as she could be with just a few minutes of prep. Amazingly, whatever towels Rebekah had used to clean up with were not in sight; which was probably for the best, as Bonnie was positive they'd have been covered in red.

Klaus looked surprised. "Had you been my sister, I'd have been waiting for another hour," he explained. "Luckily for us, she was hungry, so she was up and around a bit earlier than usual this morning."

Bonnie fought back the urge to say something about him discussing a vampire's eating habits with her so casually. For him, and for Rebekah, it was something they'd lived with, had done, for centuries. For them, it was no big deal. Unlike her, they'd lost their respect for a mortal life a long time before.

She walked over to the door; it was still dark out, though there was a hint of light peeking up over the horizon. She jumped when Klaus stepped up behind her and looked out over her shoulder.

"Ah," he said. "There's Bekah now."

"Where?" Bonnie asked, more focused on the hybrid behind her than his sister. He was far too close to her neck for her to be comfortable. "I don't see anyone."

Klaus grinned, knowing that the witch wasn't looking for Rebekah.

Bonnie jumped as he put his left hand on her shoulder, and he pointed across the distant road to somewhere beyond the diner and truck stop. His chest pressed lightly against her back, and her skin tingled slightly where they touched.

"She's right there," he whispered in her ear. "With a friend."

Bonnie fought to control her fluttering heart. Klaus had a thousand years experience seducing women, he had to know the effect he was having on her, and she stubbornly refused to give him the satisfaction of being able to hear her pulse racing. A few seconds of focused concentration, and she could feel her heartbeat slow down to a more steady pace. Only then did she open her eyes and look for Rebekah again.

This time, Bonnie was able to spot her, though not without difficulty. She was still quite a distance away.

"Is that one of the truckers with her?" she asked, horrified. "We had a deal." She stepped away from Klaus and turned to face him. "No killing in front of me."

"Because if you don't see it, it doesn't happen?" Klaus taunted. Seeing the stubborn expression on Bonnie's face, he continued. "She's not going to kill him. He's going to be our ... chauffeur ... for the day."

"But he goes away unharmed?" Bonnie asked.

"I wouldn't say ... unharmed," Klaus admitted. "But he will go away alive, if you like."

"Fine," Bonnie agreed, handing Klaus the key to her room. "We'd better check out."

"Already done," Klaus told her. He turned around and tossed the key back into the room, where it landed with a soft clink.

"What-?"

"Are you guys ready to leave?"

Bonnie jumped as Rebekah spoke from a few feet behind her. Damned vampires and their superhuman speed. And their inhuman appetites; the motel manager was probably dead.

"We are," Klaus said.

As Rebekah guided the truck driver she'd compelled to the front of the truck, Klaus opened the back door, and Bonnie climbed in. As she headed towards her spot near the front of the truck bed, she heard Klaus shut the door, and the lock closed. Turning around, she jumped half out of her skin.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, surprised to find Klaus in the back part of the truck with her.

"Bekah has plenty of company up front with her," Klaus answered, sauntering up towards Bonnie as the truck began moving. "I thought I'd spend the day back here. With you."

. . . .

. . . .

The first two hours in the back of the truck with Klaus felt like an infinity to Bonnie. Neither had said much after getting on the road, but Klaus had spent a lot of time watching Bonnie, and his scrutiny made her feel distinctly uncomfortable. Finally, Bonnie had enough.

"Please stop that," she told him.

"Stop what?" Klaus asked. Bonnie couldn't tell if he was just playing with her, or if he really didn't know how much his staring unnerved her.

"Stop staring at me," Bonnie answered.

"But you are by far the most interesting thing in the back of this truck," Klaus answered.

"Only because I look like food to you," Bonnie said.

"Because you're the only thing I haven't seen on a daily basis for centuries," he corrected. "Believe me when I say this, Bonnie. You will never be food to me." _At least not until I get that amulet._ But he could wait for that; after all, he was immortal, and no matter how long-lived a witch could be, he would still outlive her by centuries.

"That's good to know," she said, a hint of sarcasm entering her voice. She decided that talking was somewhat less uncomfortable than just sitting together in awkward silence. "Where are we headed?"

"Again with the questions," Klaus observed.

"You killed my phone," Bonnie pointed out. "And besides, I signed an agreement. I will not leave your side until the contract is breached."

"So confident that I'll attack you?"

"Or that Rebekah will," Bonnie answered. "But I won't use the info to share with my friends. I just want to know what to expect."

Klaus debated for a moment before speaking.

"Colorado," he answered.

Bonnie was quiet for a moment. "Why Colorado?" Of all the potential locations, that state was one of the few she hadn't expected to be their destination.

"Why not Colorado?" Klaus challenged.

"I figured you'd be in some sort of population center," Bonnie answered. "Los Angeles, or New York City, or Chicago, like you were once with Stefan."

"Elena talks a lot, doesn't she?" Klaus asked. Bonnie shrugged, acknowledging that yes, she and Elena had discussed Stefan and Klaus having a connection to the Windy City, but she was unwilling to share their conversation with him. "Oh, there are plenty of people in Colorado, but there are also some nice, out of the way, locations to live."

"Have you lived in Colorado before?" Bonnie asked, curious. Klaus had a millennium of life experience; Bonnie knew she was just barely seeing the tip of the iceberg.

"Yes," Klaus answered. "A long time ago."

"So why did you leave?"

"You do ask a lot of questions," Klaus pointed out.

Bonnie didn't apologize. "It's better than just sitting here, staring at each other or these boxes." She sighed. "And besides, we're going to be living in fairly close quarters. Maybe I'd prefer to know a little something about the scary vampire guy who terrorized my friends for months."

Klaus smirked at Bonnie's description of him. "You think I'm scary, do you?"

"I have to," she noted. "Because just sitting here, talking to you, it's almost too easy to forget who - and what - you are."

Klaus was quiet for a minute, and the silence made Bonnie feel like squirming, but she fought off the urge to show that weakness in front of him. She had a feeling that was going to be a daily battle for her.

"I was human once," he admitted. "A very, very, long time ago. It's hard to remember what that feels like sometimes."

"But there are things that you find scary, too," Bonnie said. "Mikael, for instance."

"You know nothing of Mikael," Klaus snapped.

"It's okay to be afraid," Bonnie answered, trying to calm the scary vampire guy. "We all fear things that can kill us."

Before she could blink, Bonnie was slammed against the front wall of the truck, Klaus's hands gripping her throat as he leaned in towards her. "I am _not_ afraid of Mikael," he hissed.

This time, Bonnie couldn't control her raging heartbeat, as fear bled into sheer terror at Klaus's hands. He could kill her so easily, she realized. Just one little squeeze of his hands and she'd be done for.

Still, she couldn't stop herself from speaking. "And you wonder why I think you're scary." She closed her eyes and swallowed, almost falling as Klaus released her suddenly, realizing that if he pushed things any farther he'd be in breach of their contract. He planted himself at the opposite end of the truck bed. She slid back down to her blanketed spot.

Ironically, Bonnie noticed, Klaus was now ignoring her, while she was unable to take her eyes off him.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was never more relieved than when the truck finally pulled to a stop and parked.

"We're home," Klaus announced, standing up. They were the first words spoken since the disagreement hours before. To Bonnie's surprise, Klaus offered her a hand up.

More surprisingly, she took it and allowed him to help her to her feet.

"We can't be in Colorado already," she said in disbelief.

"We drive as fast as we run," Klaus teased as he released the inside lock on the back door and hauled the door up. It was dark outside, but the moon was shining clearly through the cloudless night sky.

"Ha ha," Bonnie answered, grabbing her bag and following Klaus out of the back. Once on solid ground, she stretched, her muscles aching from the long hours of riding in the not-so-comfortable back of the truck.

"Home sweet home," Klaus said, heading towards the building ahead. Rebekah and the driver followed him inside.

Bonnie glanced around, studying the surroundings. They were on some hill above a city, Denver possibly? She could see the lights in the distance. But not in the city, as there were trees all around the property. Turning, she stared up at a huge dark house.

It was old, and some sort of cross between Victorian and Gothic. The wooden house looked like it had seen better days, but it still looked fairly sturdy. Curious, Bonnie headed inside.

The inside of the house was filthy, with several layers of dust covering everything. The furniture, at least, had been covered by plastic, so they had been spared much of the filth. Rebekah had uncovered an upholstered chair near the fireplace, while the compelled truckdriver worked at kindling a fire in the fireplace. Klaus stood across the room, staring out a window down at the city below.

"You may have your choice of rooms on the second floor," he said to Bonnie with his back to her. "The stairs are through the kitchen, on your left. Be careful, they haven't been used in decades."

Bonnie nodded, then felt stupid, as he couldn't see her nod with his back to her. But instead of speaking up, she turned and headed in the direction of the kitchen.

The house was incredibly dark, and old. Bonnie felt along the wall for some sort of light switch, but there wasn't any. After a minute, her eyes adjusted to the blackness, and she could make out vague shapes, and to the left, what looked to be a doorjamb. She aimed herself in that direction and fumbled through the opening. Cautiously, she stepped in, her foot connecting with what could only be the bottom step. Sucking in a deep breath, she began to climb in the dark.

She counted fourteen very loud, but relatively sturdy, steps until she reached the top of the stairs and another doorway. She opened it and stepped out onto the second floor landing.

Although the light was dim here, shining in gently from a large window at the end of the hallway, it was much brighter than it had been in the staircase. Bonnie could vague make out several doors along the hall. She stepped forward and tried to open the first one, but it was locked. The second door, one on the left, however, was unlocked, and opening it with yet another creak, she stepped into the room.

She had clearly found one of the bedrooms. It was hard to tell the colors on the wall, but there were a couple of old, framed photographs hanging, and the bed across the room was fairly ornate. It had a large wooden canopy and frame, with a wispy gauze covering that was somewhat yellowed with age. Still, the bed itself was covered with plastic sheeting, and she hauled the sheet off the bed and onto the floor. She folded the plastic up and put it in a corner. She found a door on the left hand wall of her room, but that only led to a closet.

Suddenly feeling the urge to explore, Bonnie headed for the door. Surely, there at least had to be a bathroom somewhere on the second floor. As she stepped to the doorway, she heard a creak behind her. She spun around, her gaze flying across the room, but there was nothing in the room with her. Exhaling loudly, she turned back around.

And slammed straight into someone else.

"Dammit!" she cried out when she recognized Klaus. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" Klaus asked with a bit of a smirk.

"Don't sneak up on me in a dark and creepy house," she answered, her heart still pounding furiously. Her urge to go exploring disappeared in an instant; now all she wanted was to safely barricade herself into her room for the night. If there was a way to safely barricade it from two, millennia-old, vampires.

The smirk became much more pronounced. "That's why I brought you this," Klaus said, his eyes glittering merrily in the slightly flickering light of the lamp he held in his hand. It was old, metallic and glass, with a lit candle inside providing a little bit of light.

"Thank you," Bonnie answered, reaching to take the light. Klaus held onto it for a minute, toying with her, before relinquishing it.

"Good night, Bonnie," Klaus said, turning away and heading the long way down the hall, opposite the way Bonnie had come. She was half tempted to call after him, to ask about there being another way up to the second floor, but she thought better of it. She'd go exploring tomorrow.

In the daylight.

. . . .

. . . .

When morning came, Bonnie woke with a start and stared around at the unfamiliar surroundings before remembering where she was. She crawled out of bed, and in the t-shirt and shorts she'd worn to bed, she opened the door to her room and stepped out into the hallway.

Things looked completely different with sunlight gleaming in through the windows. There were still shadows, but nothing like they'd been the night before. She padded down the hall to the next room, but that was another bedroom. The second and third doors she tried were also bedrooms, both empty. Finally, she found a small bathroom.

"Thank God," she said, stepping inside and shutting the door. Unfortunately, there was no lock; she just hoped no one else had any urge to use the loo while she was in there.

The toilet was ancient, but working; the sink likewise, ancient, but in working order. It took a couple of minutes of Bonnie running the water, however, before the water changed from a rusty red - at least, she hoped it was rust - to a more normal clear. She saw a claw-footed bathtub, but no shower. With a sigh, she wondered if she could talk Klaus into upgrading the plumbing. And perhaps the lighting and electric as well.

Bonnie knew she needed to eat breakfast. She wasn't certain how she'd convince Klaus to let her go into town and pick up some groceries. However, after she pulled on some jeans and cleaned up a bit, she headed downstairs into a first floor greatly changed from the previous night.

There was a pair of women in the kitchen, cooking. Curious, Bonnie headed out into the living room, which had been cleaned of all the dust that had been present the night before. Rebekah was nowhere to be seen, but Klaus was over at his window, still staring down at the city. Half a dozen people, both men and women, were cleaning the room, and a couple of men were carrying in boxes from the back of the truck.

"They've been compelled," Klaus told her without glancing. "No harm will come to them." He turned and walked over to Bonnie. "Someone will be here later to see about updating the plumbing and electric."

Bonnie glanced at him sharply. How had he known what she was thinking? She hadn't said any of it out loud, and last time she checked, while he had many abilities, mind-reading was _not_ one of them.

"When one gets used to having modern amenities," he answered, "one forgets how inconvenient life used to be." He sighed. "There was once a time when even these were luxuries compared to what I once knew."

"Do you mean, back before you became a vampire?" Bonnie asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"We didn't even have a stove then," Klaus told her. "Or running water. Or anything nearly as amazing as a toilet. We had to cook over an open fire, or in a small pit in the house; fetch water from the river, or from the recently dug village well. Life was simpler then..."

Klaus sounded wistful, something that surprised Bonnie. Did he miss being human? She was half-tempted to ask, but she didn't think he'd appreciate the question.

"Simpler in what way?" Bonnie asked, truly curious about what he meant.

"Just ... uncomplicated," he told her.

"Before immortality made things different?"

Klaus glanced sharply at Bonnie. "I don't want to discuss it."

Bonnie backed down; no point in pissing off the vampire who's home she was living in. She nodded, and then she headed into the kitchen. Her stomach was calling, and it gave her a good reason to leave Klaus's hauntingly disturbing sensitivity behind.

. . . .

. . . .

After breakfast, Bonnie dug a heavy sweater out of her duffel and headed outside to explore. Before she set off, however, she stopped and stared up at the house.

It looked huge, but much less imposing, in the sunlight. There were three main levels, with a squarish spire forming a small fourth floor, and slightly concave roofing. The house was painted a light blue, with a gray shingled roof with fancy designs built into it.

"It's a Victorian style," a familiar voice told her. Unlike Bonnie, who was fairly chilly in the February air despite her multiple layers of heavy clothing, Klaus was apparently comfortable wandering around in just a light jacket, t-shirt and jeans, as nothing about him gave off any sense that he felt or was affected by the cold.

"Second Empire," he continued. "It originated on the east coast and made its way across the country in the mid to late 1800s."

"Were you living here then?" Bonnie asked.

Klaus ignored the question. "The name refers to the empire of Louis Napoleon, of France, in the mid-1800s. But the roofing style, that dates to the Renaissance. It's known as the Mansard style of roofing."

"Okay, but-"

"The architects used to refer to the Second Empire style as _horror vacui_," he continued, cutting her off, "a fear of unadorned surfaces."

Bonnie thought briefly of asking him again about having lived there before, but she shook the idea out of her head and glanced up at the house again. Well, that fear was a definite, as there were adornments all over, including short wrought-iron railings around the tops of several of the roof sections.

"What's wrong?" Klaus asked.

"Nothing," Bonnie answered. "The house is amazing, if a bit spooky at night."

"I should think a witch would appreciate things like that," Klaus told her with a smirk.

"Are there any other buildings?" she inquired. "A garage, or a barn, or a stable perhaps?"

"Feeling exploratory, are you?"

"If I'm going to be living here for a while, I'd like to get to know the area," Bonnie said. "Become familiar with my surroundings."

"Find an escape route?" Klaus asked.

Bonnie scowled up at him. "I told you, as long as you stick to our agreement, I'm not going anywhere."

"Would you like a tour?" he invited, changing the subject.

"From you?" Bonnie asked, surprised.

"Do you see anyone else offering?" Klaus smirked, glancing around. They were alone. He could see the hesitation on the young witch's face, but she finally nodded.

"All right," she accepted.

. . . .

. . . .

If Bonnie had just met Klaus for the first time taking the tour, she would have been completely charmed by him. He was intelligent, thoughtful, and sarcastic, as well as fairly good-looking, a dangerous combination to her. She could sense that there were parts of his past that haunted him, but instead of snapping at her, like he had the previous day, he simply changed the subject.

Unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to completely relax around him, knowing that he'd not only killed, and then rekilled, Elena's aunt Jenna, but that he'd killed Tyler to turn him into a hybrid, and that he'd killed thousands - maybe millions - of other people in his lifetime. But despite her nervousness around him, she was starting to see that there was someone more than just a killer inside him; like with Stefan, and even a little bit - eventually - with Damon, she'd seen the person and not just the monster. Perhaps there was a chance to find the real person inside Klaus as well.

After a short but entertaining trip through the stables adjacent to the house, and an even quicker trip through the garage/barn, Bonnie stepped towards the edge of the hill and gazed down at the city.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Klaus asked, stepping up behind her and looking over Bonnie's shoulder. He gently brushed against her.

Bonnie closed her eyes as a tremor went through her. _It's just the cold_, she told herself, shivering slightly. She adjusted her position slightly to give Klaus a better view of the city. _Not to move away from him._ She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Are you cold?" Klaus asked, glancing down at the witch standing next to him.

"A little bit," Bonnie admitted, relieved that he didn't ask her why her heart was racing so.

Klaus shrugged out of his jacket and moved in closer to Bonnie.

"Wait - what ... you don't have to do that," Bonnie told Klaus as he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. Her cheeks, fortunately, were already pink from the chill, so she didn't have to suffer the indignity of having him see her blush.

"I've kept you out here too long," Klaus told her, putting his hand on her back to guide her to the house. "I forget that not everyone can spend a lot of time here in the cold without turning into an icicle."

Bonnie relaxed a little at the teasing.

"Do you even feel the cold?" Bonnie asked. "Or do you just wear certain things to blend in?"

Klaus glanced at Bonnie, and she briefly felt like retracting the question, but instead of shutting her down, he simply sighed. "I get the distinct impression I'll be better off answering your questions now and then, won't I?"

Bonnie grinned. "That's not a given, but I'm not likely to stop asking either way."

"I do feel the cold ... some," Klaus answered. "Not as strongly as I did when I was human, of course, and now even less so than when I was just a vampire. But I do feel it. However, even the most extreme cold won't kill me."

"But it's physically possible for you to become an icicle?" Bonnie asked, grinning up at him.

"I've never tried it, but I guess it's possible," he answered, eyeing her as if to check and see if she was plotting his demise by winter. "As for the clothing, we vampires have always tried to blend in. The harder we are to spot, the harder we are to kill."

"So, Count Dracula? Was he one of you, or just a rumor?"

"Vladimir Tepes, son of the dragon, was one of us," Klaus told her. "One of the stupid ones, however. He didn't know enough to blend in, or to hide what he was. A vampire doesn't survive long when he runs around, upping the body count in one small area. He was called the impaler because he'd leave the bodies of his enemies impaled upon stakes to frighten his other enemies. But the prince of Wallachia would first drain them of their blood."

"Did you ever meet him?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes," Klaus answered. "Just once. In December 1476, near Bucharest."

"And?" Bonnie asked, curious.

"I wasn't impressed," Klaus told her. "The legends are much more interesting than the man was."

"What about the Blood Countess?"

"Am I a history book now?" Klaus asked.

"You're a living, or at least undead, history book," Bonnie answered. "You've seen so much, lived through so much history, surely you have to know if Elizabeth Bathory was a vampire."

"Erzsebet Bathory was not a vampire," Klaus answered after a minute. "She never drank, or even bathed, in blood."

"Then what started the stories?" Bonnie asked, stopping on the porch so as to hear the rest of what Klaus was telling her before they entered the house.

"Politics," Klaus answered. "This was the late 1500s, in Hungary. She was in religious opposition to many. After her husband's death, she retained sole possession of his huge army. The king owed her a large debt. She was highly educated. Women in power today still have many problems with men not respecting their abilities. At that period in time, she was greatly feared for her intelligence and her army. Rumors were made up so that the men around her could cancel the debt the king owed her, so they could take her properties and the army."

"That's horrible," Bonnie said, outraged at the story. "Did you know her well?"

"No," Klaus answered. "I was a business acquaintance of Gyorgy Thurzo, the Palantine of Hungary."

"What's a palantine?"

Klaus thought for a moment. "Something like a vice-president to the president."

"So, what did this Thurzo have to do with things?" Bonnie asked.

"He's the one who set her up," Klaus answered. "Planted the seeds of the rumors, paid people to discredit her, then _kindly_ convinced the king to simply imprison her for the remainder of her life rather than to kill her outright."

Bonnie, her heart full of indignation for this woman she'd never met, stared up at Klaus. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"To oppose him would have meant I'd get the same treatment," Klaus answered. "And what did I tell you about vampire survival rule number one?"

"Fly below the radar," Bonnie paraphrased.

"Exactly," Klaus answered with a grin.

"Nik!"

Bonnie jumped as she heard Rebekah yelling from the doorway a few feet away. She pulled Klaus's jacket from her shoulders and handed it back to him.

"Thanks for the tour," she said, squeezing past Rebekah to head inside.

Rebekah stepped out the door and stalked over to her brother.

"What is it?" Klaus asked impatiently.

"What kind of game are you playing?" the blonde-haired vampire asked.

"What do you mean?" Klaus answered.

"The witch," Rebekah told him. "That lovely teenaged _human_ who was just wearing your jacket."

"What about her?" Klaus said, again answering his sister's questions with a question.

"And a tour of the grounds?" Rebekah pointed out. "You're up to something, Nik, and I want to know what is."

"It's simple," Klaus said. "I plan to make Bonnie fall in love with me."

"Why on earth would you want to make that girl fall in love with you?" Rebekah asked. "You, the confirmed vampire bachelor? You, who finds love to be a huge weakness?"

"I didn't say that I plan to fall in love with _her_," Klaus answered. "I plan to make _her_ fall in love with me. Not the same thing at all, Bekah. She has something I want, something I need."

"Ewwww, Nik," Rebekah said, wrinkling her nose. "I do _not_ want to discuss that with you."

Klaus smirked. "I'm _not_ referring to sex. I told you before that she has a weapon."

"I remember," his sister said. "But you never told me what kind of weapon it was."

"An amulet," Klaus told her. "The Eye of the Jackal."

"I remember that amulet," Rebekah said. "Back when it was first forged hundreds of years ago. You killed the Jackal, and it was his life essence that created the magic within the amulet."

"And Bonnie has that amulet," Klaus said. "She must be protected. I can't force her to give me the necklace, and I can't let her be killed."

"And if she falls in love with you," Rebekah figured, "then she'll be more likely to willingly give you the amulet. The only other way for you to get it is to wait until her natural death, and with our lifestyles, that may never happen. Things are rarely ever safe for long."

"Exactly," Klaus confirmed.

. . . .

. . . .


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Four**

. . . .

. . . .

"I want to attend school," Bonnie said.

"No way in hell," Klaus answered, pacing the floor of the living room. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, and he shook his head.

Bonnie gritted her teeth in frustration. Her past few days had been spent in the house on the hill, or in the immediate vicinity. The only people she'd been able to talk to had been either vampires or compelled workmen fixing up the house. She wanted - no, she _needed_ - to get out of the house and talk to other people.

"I'm bored silly sitting around this house," Bonnie told him. "And you agreed that I wasn't going to be your prisoner."

"I remember," Klaus answered. He was quiet for a minute, staring out the window down at the city below. "I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it," Bonnie pointed out. "I need something to do."

"You could practice your magic," Klaus retorted, turning back to face Bonnie.

"I practice that every day anyway," Bonnie argued. "I need a break. I need to see some other humans. Some that don't know that vampires really exist."

Klaus scowled.

"You let Rebekah go to Mystic Falls High School before we left," Bonnie added.

"I didn't exactly _let_ her," Klaus returned. "I simply wasn't there to stop her."

"What can it hurt?" Bonnie asked. "It would get me out of your hair for part of the day."

"You're not in my hair," Klaus told her.

"And I need to graduate if I want to go to college," Bonnie continued.

"What do you need college for?" Klaus asked.

"So I can get a decent job," Bonnie answered.

"What do you need a job for?" Klaus asked, stepping into Bonnie's personal space. "I can compel anyone to do anything for you. Get you anything you want. Money, possessions, you name it."

"I'm a human, Klaus," Bonnie reminded him. "I'm not a vampire, and I don't want to live like one." Klaus scowled again. "I want to live like a human being, to have a bit of normalcy in my life. At least in one part of my life."

"Because the rest is so terrible?" Klaus queried, his eyes darkening in disappointment.

"It's not ...terrible... so much," Bonnie answered. "But it can be so complicated. I just want something simple to focus on once in a while, and wow. I can't believe I'm even calling school _simple._" She grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Klaus said, turning away. "Fine. You can go. As long as you take Rebekah with you."

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of getting away from vampires and pretending to still be an ignorant human?" Bonnie asked.

"It's either that way, or no way at all," Klaus answered. "Take it or leave it."

Bonnie knew when she had won; if she could manage to avoid Rebekah while at school, she might be able to have some semblance of a normal life for a few hours of the day. Except that Elena and Caroline wouldn't be there with her.

"I'll take it," Bonnie decided. And then, before she turned away and headed outside, she said, "Thank you, Klaus."

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie thought her first day at El Dorado High School went really well. After Rebekah compelled the secretary to create fake grade transcripts for them and got them class schedules, they had split off to their respective classes, and Bonnie hadn't seen the vampire the rest of the day. She had, however, made friends with a couple of girls who reminded her slightly of Elena and Caroline, except the blonde-haired one, Sera, was more like Elena, and the dark-haired one, Ally, was more like Caroline. They'd met in first period calculus, and they'd shared three more classes throughout the day.

Ally had invited her to stop by the gym after school, while she and Sera would be setting up decorations for the Valentine's Dance. After searching for a few minutes, Bonnie finally found the gymnasium entrance, and glancing in the window, she spotted the girls inside, hanging decorations. She opened the door and stepped inside, and Ally greeted her instantly, hopping over, full of bouncy smiles.

"I still can't believe you started school on a Friday," Ally told her, leading her a little ways into the gym. "But it's a great Friday to start. You are coming to the dance tonight, right? You have to!"

"Lots of cute guys," Sera added, joining them after she'd finished hanging up another decoration. "Single ones."

"Oh, Bonnie already has a boyfriend," a familiar female voice spoke from behind Bonnie. She spun to find Rebekah standing there; she hadn't heard the vampire come in.

"No, I don't-"

"I'm sure Klaus wouldn't be happy to know you're acting like he doesn't exist," Rebekah said.

"Is Klaus your boyfriend?" Ally asked.

"Is he German?" Sera asked. "His name sounds kind of Germanic."

"He's my brother," Rebekah said.

"He's _not_ my boyfriend," Bonnie said.

"An ex?"

"No, he-"

"You should bring him to the dance," Ally told her.

"Yes, Bonnie," Rebekah said. "You_ should _bring him to the dance."

"I wasn't planning on going," Bonnie told them, giving Rebekah a dirty look.

"When I tell Klaus about the dance," Rebekah answered, "he'll insist on coming."

"You'll have to introduce us," Sera said, smiling at Bonnie.

"We have to go," Rebekah reminded the witch before she could say anything else. To the other girls, she said, "We'll see you later." She turned around and left.

"I'd better get going," Bonnie said with an apologetic smile. She hurried to catch up with Rebekah, as the vampire was her ride back to the house.

. . . .

. . . .

"So, how was school?" Klaus asked when Bonnie and Rebekah walked into the house.

"Boring," Rebekah said. "But history class was fun."

"I was asking Bonnie," Klaus said. "You just enjoy going to school for kicks."

"True," Rebekah grinned, heading towards the doorway to the right of the room. "Make sure you ask her about the dance tonight." She disappeared through the door, and Bonnie set her backpack down and took a seat across from Klaus. She could tell he wanted to know about classes.

"How was your first day?" Klaus repeated, looking surprisingly interested in Bonnie's answer.

"It was good," Bonnie told him. "I made a couple of friends, and I have some English and calculus homework already."

"And what's this about a dance?" Klaus asked. His sister's words had caught his attention, and he wasn't about to ignore an opportunity to put his plan into action.

"The Valentine's Dance," Bonnie answered. "But I'm not going."

"Why not?" Klaus asked, making eye contact with Bonnie.

"I don't have a date," Bonnie told him. She wasn't going to let on that Rebekah had pestered her about taking Klaus to the dance the entire ride back to the house. "And a Valentine's Dance is pretty much date-mandatory."

"You have one if you want one," Klaus answered.

Bonnie's eyes flashed to his face to see if he was joking, or teasing her.

"Why would _you_ want to go to a high school dance?" Bonnie asked, surprised. She paused before adding, "I won't let you use it as your own personal fast food menu."

Klaus laughed. "I had no intentions of using it as a one-stop smorgasbord."

"Then why go?"

"Maybe to enjoy the company of a beautiful woman?" Klaus answered.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Or maybe I just like dancing?" Klaus added.

Bonnie's expression didn't change.

"You don't trust me very much, do you?" Klaus asked.

"Should I?" Bonnie said. "You're very good at avoiding answering any questions I ask."

Klaus smirked. "Maybe I could use a change of scenery as well. And a dance is as good as anything."

"You could always go with Rebekah," Bonnie pointed out.

"I think she'd rather be free to flirt without her stick-in-the-mud brother as a chaperone," Klaus answered. "Come on, Bonnie. Who knows? You might actually enjoy yourself."

"I don't want to go, Klaus," Bonnie told him.

"You aren't going to make me go alone, are you?"

Bonnie heard the barely veiled threat behind his words, that if he went without her, there was no telling _what_ he might do.

"And besides," Klaus added. "If you gave yourself a chance, you might find that I'm not as monstrous as you seem to think I am."

. . . .

. . . .

"You look lovely, Bonnie," Klaus said as he walked into the living room to find Bonnie already dressed and waiting. The young witch hadn't brought any dresses with her, so Rebekah had _kindly_ offered to lend her an outfit for the night. Bonnie was wearing a pale blue, modified empire-waisted dress that fell to her knees, with matching blue heels. With her wavy hair pulled back off her neck and in a sophisticated twist, with a few tendrils framing her face, her look was complete.

Except for the amulet. It was clearly visible, and while the dark blue stone went well with the outfit, Bonnie felt highly aware of it. There was no way that Klaus wouldn't notice it. She was just afraid of how he'd react when he did; however, at no time did she even consider taking it off.

"Thank you," Bonnie said, swallowing hard.

"Lovely necklace," Klaus told her, but he didn't say anything further, and he appeared completely disinterested in the amulet after that, so Bonnie released the breath she was holding. Maybe the thousand year old vampire turned hybrid didn't recognize it, but she couldn't believe that was possible.

"Rebekah?" Klaus called up the stairs. "If you aren't ready in a minute, we're leaving without you!"

"I'll be right down!" the blonde vampire answered.

Clearly Klaus's threat worked, because Rebekah made it down to the living room in about half the time he'd offered her.

"I'm ready," Rebekah said. She was the visual antithesis to Bonnie: fair hair to Bonnie's dark, cream-colored skin to Bonnie's mocha, black dress to Bonnie's much lighter colored dress. Her hair was up in a loose bun. "Well, then, let's get going." And with a smile, she headed out the door.

Klaus held a hand out to Bonnie. "Shall we?"

Bonnie hesitated a moment, staring at Klaus's outstretched hand, before finally taking it. At his touch, Bonnie felt a tingle go through her, and a small sound escaped her lips as she pulled her hand free.

"Are you all right?" Klaus asked, staring down into her eyes with eyes dark as coal.

"Yes," Bonnie answered, her heart racing, though whether from fear or something else, she couldn't be positive. Had it been the magic in the amulet reacting? Or was her body trying to convince her mind that Klaus was attractive despite his monstrous history? She smiled up at him, pretending that she was more okay than she really was. "Let's go."

. . . .

. . . .

The dance was already underway when Bonnie, Klaus, and Rebekah walked in.

"This is where we part for the evening," Rebekah told them, taking her leave and disappearing into the crowd as if she'd attended the school her whole life and not just for a single day.

Bonnie felt awkwardly uncomfortable suddenly, realizing that other than two girls she'd met earlier that day, the only people she knew at the dance were a pair of millennium-old vampires. And she was standing alone in a darkened gym with one of those bloodsuckers.

"Would you like something to drink?" Klaus asked, nodding towards the punch bowl set up in a corner of the gymnasium.

Bonnie smiled up at him. "Yes, thank you." And as he walked across the room and away from her, she felt her heart plummet, even though she felt a sense of relief as well. She really wasn't a fan of large crowds of unfamiliar people. She couldn't spot Ally or Sera, and her last vestige of familiarity had now blended into the crowd and disappeared.

"You came!"

Bonnie turned around to see Ally walking up behind her, and she breathed a sigh of relief at seeing a friendly face. Ally wore a green shift dress and a couple of golden bangles.

Bonnie was never more happy to see a familiar face. "Yep, I'm here," she said, relief flooding her.

"Did you come alone?" Ally asked.

"Ah, no," Bonnie answered, unsure how to describe Klaus. He wasn't her date, exactly, and he certainly wasn't her boyfriend, as Rebekah had tried to pass him off as earlier.

"So, where is he, this date of yours?" Ally asked, grinning. "I want to meet him."

"He's getting me some punch," Bonnie answered, and then, wanting to clarify the relationship, she added. "And he's not really my date or anything. He's _definitely_ not my boyfriend."

"So, he's just a guy, and a friend?" Ally asked, summarizing Bonnie's rambling.

"Basically," Bonnie answered, wishing her new friend would drop the subject. She didn't really want to talk about Klaus, and she especially didn't want them examining and overinflating the non-existent relationship between the two of them. She spotted him cutting back through the crowd carrying two cups of punch.

"Klaus," Bonnie introduced as the vampire joined them, "this is Ally. Ally...Klaus."

"Pleased to meet you," Klaus greeted the other girl. He handed Bonnie a cup of punch, and then he offered the second to Ally, who took it with a smile. Ally had no idea that Klaus simply had no real interest in drinking the liquid that was inside the cup.

"So, what brings you to Aurora, Klaus?" Ally asked. "Are you going to college near here?"

"I'm considering it," Klaus answered, nodding. "But I haven't enrolled. I just inherited an old family estate up in the hills, so I moved out here to fix it up. Bonnie, and my sister Bekah, came along with me."

"So, how long have you two been dating?"

"We aren't-"

"Two years," Klaus answered smoothly, as if he'd anticipated the question and had formulated an answer to it before Ally had even thought to ask it. He took Bonnie's hand, and despite her best attempts to surreptitiously tug it free, he held tight.

"Ally!"

Sera stumbled into the group as she was bounced along through the crowd. While Ally had her back turn, Bonnie finally managed, with a stern glare countered by an amused smirk, to free her hand from Klaus's supernatural grip.

"Bonnie, you made it," Sera said, smiling broadly. "And you must be Klaus." She offered her hand to him, and Bonnie tried not to roll her eyes as Klaus lifted the hand to his lips.

Sera blushed. "Al, Michael's here, and he was asking if I'd seen you."

Ally looked excited. She told Bonnie and Klaus that she'd talk to them later, and then she followed Sera back through the surging crowd.

Bonnie finished off the last sip of her punch and tossed her empty cup into the nearby garbage can.

"Would you like to dance?" Klaus asked, again holding out a hand to Bonnie.

"Not with-"

"We must keep up appearances," Klaus told her.

"What appearances?" Bonnie asked as Klaus caught her hand and led - or rather, dragged - her out onto the dance floor as a slow song began.

"Your friends think we're dating," Klaus reminded her, pulling her into his arms. "And that we've been together for a while."

"Through no fault of mine," Bonnie pointed out, keeping her hands against Klaus's chest in order to maintain a safe distance. "You're making me look like a liar."

Klaus smirked. "Admit it, Bonnie. You find me attractive."

"Finding you attractive is not the same as liking you, or dating you," Bonnie pointed out, suddenly glad for the darkness in the gym. "George Clooney's attractive, but I wouldn't date him."

"Of course not," Klaus told her. "He's not the type to date one woman."

"And neither are you," Bonnie told him. "You've likely had your share of women over the centuries; I can't see you being content with just dating one."

"Then maybe you don't know me very well," Klaus said. "Relax, I'm not going to bite you. You don't have to be afraid to touch me."

Before she knew enough to object, Bonnie found herself wrapped in Klaus's arms on the dance floor. She gazed up angrily at him.

"I didn't compel you," Klaus told her. "Not only did I agree never to do so, I didn't have to."

Embarrassed, Bonnie buried her face in Klaus's chest, but she didn't pull out of his arms. Still, she kept her arms between them to create an illusion of distance, that she was still in control of her body's betraying reaction to his seductive presence.

"It's just a dance, Bonnie," Klaus whispered in her ear, his warm breath tickling her and making her breath catch in her throat. "You can put your arms around me without it meaning anything more than that." His hands rubbed along her back, lightly massaging the muscles. Closing her eyes, Bonnie relaxed into him for just a minute.

Possibly a minute too long.

"Stop that," she whispered when his lips brushed against her neck.

"Stop what?" Klaus whispered back, lightly nibbling where her jaw met her throat.

"Stop that!" she hissed, pulling away far enough to glare up at him.

Klaus looked calm, and slightly amused.

"I told you, Bonnie," he said softly, "I'm not going to bite you."

"I'm not afraid of you biting me," Bonnie returned, her pulse racing furiously. Anger, she told herself. That's all it was.

"Then what are you afraid of?" Klaus asked astutely.

"I don't want you to do that," Bonnie told him.

"To do what?" Klaus whispered.

"To kiss me, or to try to seduce me," Bonnie answered. "Because I'm not going to fall for it."

"Your lips say one thing," Klaus observed. "But your body is telling me something completely different."

Embarrassment mingled and bonded with anger, and Bonnie pushed Klaus away from her. He tried to hold onto her, but she twisted away from his hands and slipped into the crowd. Klaus hurried after her.

A hand caught Bonnie's arm, and she spun around, furious that he was insisting on pursuing her, and this conversation, in the crowded gymnasium. But as she opened her mouth to speak, a loud scream pierced the night, drowning out both conversation and music.

The gym went mostly silent, startled by the scream. Another scream rang out, followed by a third. Even the deejay stopped playing.

"What was that?" Bonnie asked, startled out of her argument with Klaus.

"I'm not sure," Klaus answered.

"Where's your sister?" Bonnie asked, suddenly worried what the other vampire might have done.

The sound of glass shattering caught her attention. A window high in the wall of the gym had broken, and a number of figures came leaping into the dance.

More screaming as the figures landed on students. More screaming after they were no longer in the air. Screams of startlement turned into screams of terror.

There was a mad rush for the exit.

Klaus grabbed Bonnie and pulled her over to the wall to escape the press of bodies.

"We have to get over there," she argued, trying to pull away.

"No, we need to leave," Klaus said, pulling her back against the wall. "As soon as it's safe for us to not get crushed by the mob."

A minute later, a large portion of the students had cleared out, and while there was still a number of students surging towards the doors, Klaus deemed it safe enough to leave. Bonnie, however, had other plans, and she headed in the direction of the disturbance as soon as Klaus released her.

Klaus grabbed Bonnie's arm.

"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to drag her out of the gym.

"I need to help," Bonnie answered, shaking free of his hand and heading the wrong way into the stream of students.

A moment later, Klaus was standing in front of her.

"We have to get out of here," he insisted, blocking Bonnie's path.

"So go ahead and leave," Bonnie answered, her eyes hard, stubborn. "But I'm staying and finding out what's wrong."

"Dammit, witch," he said under his breath. Uttering a string of curses, he turned around and headed in the direction of the disturbance. Bonnie tried to push past him, but Klaus forced her to stay behind; he refused to let her walk ahead. Finally they were free of the crowd, and the scene in front of them horrified Bonnie.

There had to be at least a dozen bodies on the floor, some dead, some dying. And standing above them were six vampires, mouths covered in blood, most holding fresh crying and screaming victims.

Bonnie didn't hesitate. Using her magic, she flung the vampires back into the wall behind them. Another vampire, apparently hiding in the crowd, slammed into Klaus, knocking him to the floor. As Bonnie turned to help him, another vampire hit her from behind, knocking her to the floor as well. Before she could react, he was lifted from her, and Rebekah had joined the fray.

Klaus and Rebekah made quick work of half the vampires, while Bonnie held the other four at bay, using her magic to keep them trapped against the wall.

"Who sent you?" Bonnie asked, slamming the vampires back into the wall with her power. No answers. She tried a different question. "What are you doing here?"

"We came looking for you, witch," one of them answered. A moment later, Klaus's hand ripped through that vampire's chest and pulled out his heart.

"And which one of you is going to tell us why you were looking for the witch?" Klaus asked as the heartless vampire collapsed at his feet.

No answers were forthcoming.

"They aren't going to tell us, Nik," Rebekah said, using a broken piece of bleacher to stake another vampire.

Then there were two.

"We know who you are, Hybrid," the taller of the two remaining vampires spoke. "But we aren't afraid of you. The witch has to die."

"I'm not going to let that happen," Klaus told him, reaching through his chest and crushing his heart.

"You won't be able to stop us," the last vampire said. "You won't be able to protect her."

Bonnie sagged with relief after Rebekah staked the final vampire. She instinctively reached up to see if her nose was bleeding; it was, but only barely. The magic had taken more out of her than she had expected. More than it should have for what little she'd expended.

Her eyes drifted over the wreckage of the gymnasium, of the dead and dying. And there among the bodies were Sera and Ally.

"Oh my god," Bonnie whispered, running over to Ally and Sera. She pressed her fingers to their pulsepoints. Both were still alive, but barely. She glanced up at Klaus. "You have to help them!"

"And do what?" Klaus asked callously. "Feed them my blood? Wouldn't that be violating our agreement somehow?"

Bonnie fought off the urge to slap him and turned away to face her friends. Standing, she sucked in a deep breath and began to focus on the injured students.

"What are you doing?" Klaus asked.

Bonnie ignored him. She poured all of her energy into a healing spell, knowing that this one wouldn't take as much strength, per victim, as the spell to bring Jeremy back from the dead had, but at the same time, there were more people to direct the spell at, which would be taxing without outside interference, and she was determined to not let Klaus distract her.

"She's going to kill herself trying to heal them all," Rebekah told her brother.

"Stop, Bonnie," Klaus directed, grabbing her arm to try to get her attention. The witch just shrugged him off like his grip wasn't rock solid. "Bonnie?" Again, she didn't respond to him. He nodded towards the crowd, and Rebekah bit into her wrist and ran over to the first of the injured students.

Klaus stepped in front of the witch. Finally, she lifted her head to meet his eyes, and then her eyes rolled back, and she passed out. The hybrid was quick enough to catch her before she hit the floor, and he gently lowered her to a resting position. Rebekah moved onto the next student.

"What's going on here? Are those ... vampires?"

Klaus looked up to see a boy in a letterman jacket staring in stunned disbelief at the scene in front of him; Klaus had to admit it was pretty much a blood bath, but he hadn't expected anyone to show up so soon, or to catch them there. A glance at Bonnie reassured him that she was still breathing, that her heart was still pumping blood through her veins, and then he was standing in front of the jock.

"There's no such thing as vampires," Klaus said, his eyes glowing as he used compulsion on the boy. "Some rival gang showed up to do some damage here, but we managed to scare them off." He paused for just a moment. "Help is on the way, so you should go home. Everything will be fine."

As soon as Klaus finished speaking, the boy turned around and left the gymnasium.

"All done," Rebekah said, joining him. "How's the witch?"

"She's still breathing," Klaus answered. "We've done all we can here."

"Then lets get going before we have to answer any more questions," Rebekah suggested as Klaus lifted Bonnie off the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Five**

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie realized she was awake long before she opened her eyes. Her body felt sore and drained, aching in places she didn't even know she'd had. The room was quiet, warm. She was reminded of home, being snugly tucked in her bed, safe and sound. Except, as her mind came back to the present, she wasn't home, or, for that matter, safe and sound.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was surprised to see bright daylight; the last thing she remembered was night. How long had she been asleep?

"For days," Klaus said from a chair next to the bed.

Bonnie jumped, surprised that she wasn't alone, and realized she must have spoken aloud; after all, despite what she'd wondered a couple weeks before, for all his powers, Klaus couldn't truly read minds as well, could he? When he didn't answer that thought, she relaxed a little bit. But just a little. How long had he been sitting there, watching her? Listening to her heart beating? Suddenly, she was no longer relaxed.

"What day is it?" Bonnie asked, sitting up slowly. She readjusted her pillow behind her so she could lean back against it.

"Monday," Klaus answered. He didn't look happy. Actually, if Bonnie didn't know better, she'd say he almost looked ... worried.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, studying his face and his pensive, somber expression. "The last thing I remember is standing in the gym, trying to perform a healing spell on those students." Another thought occurred to her. "How are they? The students? Sera and Ally?"

"The ones who weren't already dead are fine," Klaus told her. "That includes your two friends. But it was through no help from you. Bekah fed all of them her blood. _You_ passed out from trying to use too much magic."

"Tell me something," Bonnie said. "Would you or Rebekah have even tried to save any of them if I hadn't tried to use magic to help?" Klaus was silent, and he turned his eyes away from her penetrating stare. "I didn't think so."

Neither spoke for a minute, a silence which felt much longer.

"Do you know who they were?" Bonnie asked, shifting slightly and reaching out to take a glass of water she spotted sitting on the stand next to the bed; Klaus must have put it there when he came in. The water was almost stale and warm, like it had been sitting out on the stand since she'd been brought home Friday night, but Bonnie guzzled it anyway. "The vampires, I mean. Or why they attacked the school?"

"They were after you," Klaus shared, still not looking happy.

"Me?" Bonnie asked, her eyes widening in horror. All those students who were attacked, those who had died, that was all because of her?

"I don't know who they were," Klaus answered, "or who sent them. But they wanted _you_ dead, witch. Not Rebekah. Not me. _You_."

"But why would they want to kill me?" Bonnie wondered. She was practically a nameless nobody, from an even smaller town on the other side of the country.

"Because you're a witch?" Klaus guessed. "Or because killing you would hurt my position? Or maybe because you're wearing The Eye of the Jackal and they were trying to destroy its power."

And there it was. Bonnie's eyes widened; of _course_ the oldest vampire in existence would recognize the amulet. He'd probably known she'd had it since she'd made her trade with him; it was probably even the reason he'd agreed to the trade in the first place.

"Are you aware of all that amulet does, or can do, to you, Bonnie?" Klaus asked.

"It amplifies magic," Bonnie answered, recalling what Anna had told her about the amulet before she led her to find it. "And it gives me a level of magical protection against both vampires and werewolves."

Klaus smirked. "My sweet, it does _so_ much more than just that." He went on to explain that the amulet made her a target to anyone who wanted to destroy the the magic inside it; kill her, and they kill the magic inside the amulet.

"You want the amulet," Bonnie guessed.

Klaus grinned, knowing that lying at this point would be of no use. Bonnie had clearly figured out why he'd made the bargain with her.

"And that's why you and Rebekah are so willing to protect me," she extrapolated. "Because if I die, then the amulet is useless to you."

"It can't be taken from you without destroying it," Klaus informed her. "Only a natural death will allow for the magic to remain untouched. Or a willing transfer of possession."

"Anna left a lot of this out of her description of the amulet," Bonnie told him.

"The amulet doubles your magic, but it also drains your energy twice as fast," Klaus added. "That's why you burned through your magic so fast. You have to be careful, and not overestimate your enhanced abilities with the amulet, or it could kill you. Or leave you in a magically induced coma until you die, which would fall under the heading of an 'unnatural' death."

"So, I could give you the amulet, willingly," Bonnie said. "You would have its magic. And I would have a quick death in its place."

"I don't want to kill you, Bonnie," Klaus told her. He reached out to brush a strand of hair off her cheek, but she flinched away from his fingers.

"You've tried before," she reminded him.

"Different time, different situation," Klaus pointed out, clearly not fussed by the changing of allegiances.

"The amulet makes me a target for your enemies," Bonnie said. "But if I remove it, you'd have no use for me. I'd be safe from them, but not from you or your sister."

"I told you-"

"So you can quit your little seduction game, because I'm not giving it to you," Bonnie said. "Just call it my insurance policy. It's always good to have a thousand year old vampire, or two, watching your back for you."

"I can wait till you die naturally, Bonnie," Klaus, fighting back anger, told her. "I'd rather not have to, but if you insist, I will."

"It's the only way I know you'll keep me safe," Bonnie told him. "I don't trust you, Klaus. You're so used to having people cheat you that you've become that same kind of person. It's a defense mechanism. You can't trust, and therefore you can't _be_ trusted."

Klaus, his eyes glittering angrily, dangerously, glared at Bonnie. He didn't speak as he stood up and left the room.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie sat, shifting uncomfortably in her long blue cocktail dress, as Klaus perused the wine list next to her. The two seats across from them were empty, but they wouldn't be for long. Two werewolves from a small local pack were meeting with them so Klaus could try to gently persuade them to his cause, part of his agreement with Bonnie not to kill or harm innocents. Klaus, of course, didn't particularly think of werewolves as innocents, but since Bonnie did, he would play by her rules. For now.

"Stop fidgeting," he instructed, not taking his eyes off the wine list. He was less than enthusiastic about this whole _negotiations_ thing, but it had been Bonnie's suggestion, and so to keep the peace, he figured he'd give it a try. If it didn't work out, he'd just try it his way. And his way was both more fun, and more bloody.

"Next time," Bonnie told him, "I pick the dress." Klaus had picked this one out, and it was at once both elegant and somewhat revealing. Far more revealing than something Bonnie would have chosen for herself. She shifted again, tugging the top of the dress up another hair to cover her chest a little better.

"You look fabulous," Klaus said. Again, his eyes didn't leave the list.

Bonnie gave him a dirty look. His words didn't make her feel any better. "If you like this dress so much, then next time, you can wear it."

Finally, Klaus took his eyes off the menu. He gave her a small grin. "But you look so much better in it than I do," he said.

"I'd feel so much better out of it," Bonnie said, scowling.

"I'm sure you'd look much better out of it as well," Klaus added, lifting an eyebrow to emphasize his point.

Bonnie flushed, realizing his meaning. She opened her mouth to tell him off, but before she could speak, the hostess appeared with a pair of men, who sat down across from them. Bonnie snapped her mouth shut, annoyed at being denied her comeback. But she'd make Klaus pay anyway. She had a plan to get him to break their deal, and tonight, she was going to start implementing it.

Shaking off her frustration, Bonnie smiled and focused on the pair of men now seated across from her and Klaus. It was easy to tell which was the alpha and which was his second. Despite being the older of the pair, it was clear that Phillip Watson was not the leader of the small pack. He had long, straight caramel-brown hair. He was perhaps forty-five, give or take a few years, and while he had presence, it was the younger man, Seneca Stephens, who was the alpha wolf. Thirty year old Stephens, who had short, jet-black hair, gave off an aura of power not noticeable in the older man. However, Stephens was nowhere near as powerful an alpha as the one sitting next to her.

Bonnie barely listened as the men began talking. She was debating on the various ways she could make Klaus pay for his words before the werewolves arrived. She only half paid attention, and she only perked up when Klaus forced her into the conversation a couple of times. It wasn't until the meal was almost finished that she decided on her plan of action.

Klaus was just explaining to the other werewolves how, as hybrids, they could change at will, or not at all, when Bonnie gently reached under the table and began rubbing his lower thigh. She could tell she'd startled him, because his breath caught, but he didn't let her actions distract him from his goal.

"And because of your werewolf half," Klaus contintinued, "your vampire half would be resistant to sunlight."

Bonnie scowled. Clearly, she'd have to do better than that. She slid her hand up Klaus's thigh and continued rubbing. His words faltered, and his hand snaked out and grabbed her fingers, but with a little sigh, she singed his fingers and he gasped, releasing her hand.

Bonnie glanced briefly across the table at the pair of werewolves, who were watching the interplay in amusement. It was clear they had their own idea of who had the power in the relationship between hybrid and witch, and it was also clear that Klaus was aware of their amusement. Feeling bold, Bonnie reached down and gave Klaus's package a squeeze. His hand grabbed hers again before she could do any further damage to his negotiations, or to his concentration.

"Bonnie, darling," Klaus said, squeezing her fingers to let her know just how serious he was. "Why don't you give us a few minutes?"

From the look in his eyes, Bonnie could tell that Klaus was furious with her, and his gaze held promise of chastisement once they were alone. She swallowed and nodded, and then she bid the werewolves a good evening. Standing up, she started walking over to the bar, where Klaus had compelled the bartender to give them any drinks they'd wanted before the meal. As she walked away, she heard the alpha speaking.

"That one's quite a handful," the black haired werewolf joked.

"You have no idea," Klaus answered, before Bonnie was far enough away to hear no more of the conversation.

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus was silent the entire drive back to the house, but Bonnie knew his silence wasn't likely to last much past the doors, and she was right.

"What the hell was that earlier?" Klaus asked, ripping into her as soon as they were inside. "Were you trying to ruin my negotiations? Negotiations that were _your_ idea in the first place?"

"What do you think it was?" Bonnie asked, playing coy. She knew she was living dangerously, but something kept her yanking Klaus's leash.

Klaus ripped her breath away by slamming her against the wall, then following with his own body pressed tight against hers.

"I think that was you playing with fire," he said, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke. He shoved himself away from her, walking away a few steps before turning back to face her. "You realize that I don't have to negotiate with these wolves at all. I can simply force them to become hybrids." Bonnie sucked in a breath at his threat. "I'm only going through these negotiations because you asked it of me."

Bonnie knew she was treading on thin ice, but she couldn't keep her own anger from spilling out into her words. "Let me make something clear to you," she said as he stalked over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself some bourbon. "We are not allies." She paused, letting her words sink in. "We are not friends." Despite Klaus's eyes piercing into her, she continued. "I agreed to watch your back, and I will. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to help you make more hybrids, whether they're willing or not."

"I see," Klaus said. His voice was quiet, and Bonnie knew that to be far more dangerous, deadly, than when he was screaming. He was quiet for a moment, and she waited for the storm, for his rage to get the better of him. Still, she jumped when he chucked a crystal vase into the wall, smashing it into a million pieces.

And then Klaus laughed. "I get it." He studied Bonnie, saw that she was both defiant yet fearful. "Yes, I get it now. You're trying to force me to break our deal."

Bonnie didn't answer, couldn't speak. She hadn't expected him to figure out her game plan so soon, or at all, but no one had ever said he was stupid.

"Well," Klaus continued, sipping from his glass. "Your plan isn't going to work."

That struck a nerve. Wasn't going to work?

"We'll see about that," Bonnie told him. Now she was the angry one, while he was amused.

Klaus tipped his glass at her. "So we will." He smirked. "Game on, love."

. . . .

. . . .

The next few months passed in relative peace. Relative being the key word. June was in full bloom, and Bonnie was just about an hour away from graduation.

She had spent the last four months determined to live like normal, non-witchy, non-vampire-friendly, people lived. She had already accomplished the school part, and shortly after the vampire-incident at the school dance, Bonnie found a part-time job as a cashier at a convenience store, so she could save up money for her own car and clothing. She refused to allow Klaus or Rebekah to compel anyone into just giving her things.

The peace away from the house had been easily accomplished; Bonnie mostly kept to herself, though she spent a little bit of time with Sera and Ally, both of whom had pulled through just fine, and the rest of her time was divided between school and work. She and Rebekah didn't move in the same social circles, and so other than the drives to and from school, they fortunately didn't see much of each other.

The hardest part of the peace was the time spent at the house. Klaus was almost constantly moody, and Bonnie never knew whether she'd catch him in a good mood or whether she'd get screamed at for even just looking at him funny, so she did her best to avoid him, which wasn't always easy with a millennium old vampire who could walk softer than a cat. He'd been spending a lot of time out in the garage, which had been converted to a workshop of sorts. She'd peeked in on him a couple of times and found him engaged in various carpentry tasks. She'd been amazed that he was skilled, but she hadn't spoken to him about it, since she hadn't seen much of him.

A couple of times, he'd dragged her with him to a hybrid/werewolf negotiations session, but mostly, when she wasn't accidentally bumping into him, she didn't see much of him at all, as he would make himself scarce whenever she walked into a room. At first it had been a relief, but after a while, it had just started pissing her off. How on earth was she supposed to force him into breaking their deal if she never saw him?

Of course, after that first negotiation session, which had been successful, Klaus had taken to going out partying half the night and coming home with two or three giggling, drunk, high, whatever, girls, and disappearing up to his room. If Bonnie wasn't awake when they arrived back at the house, Klaus and his friends made enough noise to wake her up. Bonnie never knew if Klaus killed the girls, or if he just drank from them and sent them back home to sleep it off; they all looked, acted, and sounded pretty much the same to her.

She hadn't stopped practicing magic; but she stopped doing it inside the house, where Klaus was sure to monitor it and might be able to sense her power levels and their random fluctuations. His constant mood swings and acting out made her uncomfortable, and anything she could do without him noticing it was for the best. However, on one of his less moody days, he'd built a small wood-enclosed garden for her to plant her "witchy herbs," as he'd called them. He didn't know she'd buried the first two ingredients she needed for the spell to re-bind his werewolf side in a corner of the garden.

Bonnie straightened the cap on her head and pasted a smile onto her face as she walked out to join her fellow graduates in their matching red gowns before they were to take their seats for the ceremony. She wished she were back home in Mystic Falls, where her father could watch her, where Elena, Caroline, Matt, and Tyler would all be graduating together and having graduation parties. Bonnie missed her friends so much, she felt disconnected from her current surroundings. It didn't matter that she was graduating _here_, her heart was still back there.

The ceremony flew past for her, as she was so distracted by thoughts of Mystic Falls that she barely heard the words of the speeches. She only knew to stand up and go get her diploma when someone nudged her that it was time. Once up on the stage, she pasted another smile on her face as she received her diploma, and as she was headed off the stage, she felt it. Someone was watching her. Not the hundreds of people there to commemorate their families' graduations. Someone was watching _her_.

_Who_? she wondered. _Klaus? Who out there would be paying attention to me_?

She stopped walking and glanced around, but there were so many faces, and with the ceremony taking place outside, it could be anyone. She shook herself and kept walking. She had to be mistaken.

But the feeling of being watched stayed with her long after she was safely tucked away back in her room at the house.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was wide awake early the next morning. She was determined to get this right. She'd spent an hour planting seeds and soil into small clay pots, and she'd carried them all up to her room. She was almost positive that Klaus would be sleeping off the aftereffects of another night of partying and random girling, so she figured just this once she'd try her magic inside.

Bonnie focused on the small pot in front of her, trial number one. She'd been working on the spell for the better part of two weeks with limited results. She'd even had success with similar spells in the past, although recreating life was still a far cry from creating life itself.

As the magic flowed through her, Bonnie reached out and touched the pot. To her surprise and delight, the seed in the pot immediately sprouted up to an inch out of the soil, the greenery slowly expanding and growing. A minute later, she had a sunflower the size of her hand growing out of the first pot. She set it aside and moved onto the next.

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus had been on his way down to the living room when he felt the tug of magic, something he hadn't felt in months, since he and Bonnie had their discussion about the amulet. He was unable to keep himself from wandering towards her room. The feel of the magic grew the closer he came to her room. Curiosity got the better of him, and he turned the knob and stepped inside.

Bonnie was focused on an empty pot on the table in front of her, and she didn't notice him standing there. He watched as she touched the pot, and within seconds, up sprang the beginnings of a plant that just kept growing until she stopped pouring energy into it.

Klaus had seen that kind of magic before, but it had been years, centuries, since he'd seen anyone that delighted about magicking anything. The excitement on her face was obvious, and her innocent joy at the creation tugged at him in a way he didn't fully understand.

"Bonnie," he said, watching her jump out of her skin as she realized he was standing in the doorway watching her. The pot in her hand exploded, making her jump again.

"Klaus," she said, standing up in a hurry, "I didn't think you'd be awake." She wiped the slight sheen of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, unknowingly leaving a streak of dirt across her skin. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

"You weren't disturbing me, Bonnie," he told her with a smile. "Was that the first time you've done a creation spell?"

Bonnie was surprised that he recognized the spell for what it was, but she knew she shouldn't be.

"Yes," she answered. "At least, the first time successfully."

"Then we should celebrate," he told her. "I'll take you to dinner."

"I can't, I have a meeting to talk to the dean at Dunham University, and then with someone to help schedule my classes for the semester," Bonnie shared, "and right after that, I have an eight-hour shift at the store."

"Then afterwards," Klaus said, determined to not let Bonnie's stubborn determination to live a normal life throw off his plans for a small celebration.

"I'll probably be pretty late," she said, hoping he'd just give up on his plan. Why on earth did he want to celebrate with her anyway? "I doubt I'll be home before ten."

"Then we can have a late night picnic or something," Klaus suggested. "You just let me work out the details."

Bonnie's eyes widened at his stubborn determination. Resigned to the fact that he wanted her company for some reason, she nodded.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie didn't return home until closer to ten-thirty, but to her surprise, Klaus was patiently waiting for her. He had a picnic basket packed and a blanket draped on the sofa next to it. When she walked in the door, he grabbed both things and told her to follow him.

They walked out to the bluff overlooking the city. Along the way, Klaus asked about her meetings at the University, and she explained about the dean being willing to accept her into the school as late as she applied to it and that scheduling classes had been fairly easy for her.

"There are four or five core classes I have to take between the first two semesters," Bonnie told him. "But I was able to get into the cryptozoology course I wanted."

"I'd have thought you'd get enough of the unusual creatures you meet in your normal life without trying to study it as well," Klaus said, setting the picnic basket down and spreading the blanket out. He indicated for Bonnie to take a seat, and then he sat down next to her. He pulled the basket closer and opened it up.

"I'm already something of an expert in the subject," Bonnie joked, her smile fading slightly as Klaus pulled cubed cheese, grapes, strawberries, and wine out of the basket.

"Would you like some wine?" he asked, pulling a pair of wine glasses out of the basket.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Bonnie asked, eyeing the wine glasses suspiciously. He'd already tried that once; she couldn't believe he would be stupid enough to think that would work a second time.

Klaus chuckled. "I can assure you, my dear, your virtue is safe with me."

Bonnie blushed, partly because she felt stupid for accusing him of seduction, and partly because she was embarrassed he knew she was still a virgin.

"So, when did you start trying to learn creation spells?" Klaus asked, handing her a wine glass. He picked up a strawberry and ate it.

"A couple of weeks ago," she admitted.

"Why wasn't I able to feel you doing magic?" Klaus asked. "Were you shielding your room?"

"No," Bonnie shook her head. She took a sip of the wine. Sweet, with a bit of a bite to it. Appropriate wine for a vampire. "I was doing the spell out in the stables, using wild plants and vines."

"Somewhat unsuccessfully?" Klaus asked.

Bonnie looked at him. "How would you know that?"

"I've seen it tried a few times," Klaus answered. "Creation spells are always easier to perform in a controlled environment. Like your room, with the potted seeds. There are always so many random seeds and weeds and roots all over outside, it gives witches with years of practice at the spells trouble sometimes. It's always easier to start small and get the hang of things, and then move on to the tougher challenges."

"Maybe I should have asked you for advice first," Bonnie teased, taking another sip of her wine. It was sweet, and went down far smoother than she'd expected.

"You still have a lifetime of firsts ahead of you," Klaus told her, referring back to her delight over the flowers blooming for the first time. "I think I've forgotten what that feels like anymore."

Bonnie was silent for a moment, reflecting on his words. "I thought vampires could feel things more strongly than we can."

"Only if we let ourselves," Klaus answered. "Most of us turn our emotions off, because they can sometimes become overwhelming. And after decades of feeling something, something that might never go away, you have to shut it off, or it can make you crazy."

"Is it like that for witches, too?" Bonnie asked, surprised that Klaus was opening up this much to her, but she knew he had to be feeling lonely. That was the one driving motivation she'd seen for much of his behavior, both before and since leaving Mystic Falls, and he had to be even lonelier now that Rebekah had moved out earlier that day. The vampire had wanted to test her wings without her brother and his pet witch around.

Bonnie swallowed more of the wine, then popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. "I've heard of some witches who can extend their lives for decades longer than a normal human life. Is that even possible?"

"It is," Klaus said. "I spoke with one such witch a few months ago, Gloria, in Chicago. But I'm not sure what spell she used to achieve it, or if her emotions get as tangled up as ours can. She seemed pretty in control when we saw her."

"Where did you learn so much about witchcraft?" Bonnie asked.

"I've lived a long time, Bonnie," Klaus reminded her. "And I've known a lot of witches."

"Your mother?" she asked, and then immediately regretted it, as Klaus looked down at the wineglass in his hand. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive."

"No, it's okay," Klaus said. "I just ... I haven't talked about her in years."

"She was the Original Witch?"

"Yes," Klaus answered, "although she wasn't the first or only witch. How much do you know about her?"

"That her name was Esther," Bonnie answered. "Rebekah told Elena that she was the one who turned you and your family into vampires. That she was the one who placed the Sun-and-Moon curse on you. And everything that was on the cave walls under Mystic Falls."

"So, you must know that I killed my mother, then," Klaus guessed. He sounded bitter and resigned. Bonnie could tell that even now, a thousand years later, just thinking about his mother pained him.

"She must have hurt you badly," Bonnie told him.

"I don't want your pity," Klaus snapped.

Bonnie recoiled at the sudden harsh words, but instead of snapping back, or retreating, she reached out and touched his arm. "There's a difference between pity and sympathy." She met his eyes, and there was some unfathomable emotion in them. She shivered.

"Are you cold?" Klaus asked.

"A little bit," Bonnie answered, although it hadn't been the reason she'd shivered.

Klaus started packing the food back into the basket. "Then we should be getting back to the house. It's late." Bonnie handed him her glass, and when he stood up, she picked up the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

They walked back to the house in comfortable, thoughtful, silence. Once in the living room, Klaus started to head for his room, but Bonnie, still draped in the blanket, caught his hand.

"Thank you," Bonnie told him, smiling slightly.

"Whatever for?" Klaus asked, surprised.

"The picnic," Bonnie answered. "The conversation." She smiled. "Good night, Klaus."

Klaus held tight to her hand, and she turned back around. He lifted her hand to his lips, pressed them against the palm, and said, "Good night, Bonnie."

When he finally released her, Bonnie was so stunned, she stood in the living room long after he'd gone up to his room, trying to process what she was feeling.

. . . .

. . . .


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Six**

. . . .

. . . .

After their late-night picnic, things had gone right back to normal for them, with Klaus being moody and unapproachable, and Bonnie choosing to avoid him. Bonnie's college courses had started the first of September, and two weeks later, she was deeply immersed in student life, even though she staying up on the hill in Klaus's house. No matter how long she had been there, she couldn't bring herself to think of it as home. She spent much of her free time at the campus library, researching this or that for her classes.

The parking lot was dark and empty when Bonnie finally left the campus library and headed for her car, an mid-90s coupe with a lot of miles on it. It had been inexpensive, but it had been all she could afford, and it ran well enough to get her where she needed to go.

The campus was still somewhat busy, even that late, as students ran back and forth between dormitories and the computer labs and the library. Part of Bonnie wished she was living on campus, because it was much more convenient, but she knew that Klaus would never allow it. Besides, it was far less expensive to live just a few miles up the hill from the school.

Bonnie hadn't realized just how long a walk it was from the library to her car, parked in the lot farthest from the library, as she'd arrived on campus during the busiest part of the day and hadn't made it back to the lot to move her car. Now, in the dark, the distance felt doubled. The cool air cut through her light jacket, making her wish she'd worn something a little heavier.

About twenty feet from her car, she heard a noise, and she spun around, startled, but she didn't see anything. Her heart sped up, and she sucked in a deep breath.

"There's nothing there," she whispered, reminding herself that she was more than prepared to face whatever might be out there, though she was certain nothing was.

Nevertheless, when she started walking back towards her car, she picked up her pace.

She didn't reach her car before the first vampire grabbed her. She sent him flying with a thought, and quickly sent the second one into the air just after the first. But the third vampire breached her defenses while she was busy with the first two, and he sank sharp fangs into her neck.

Bonnie gasped as she felt her skin tearing, and in shock, she sank to her knees, the vampire wrapping an arm around her and falling forward with her. She gathered her wits, knowing that if she didn't act now, she was dead.

And that's when she was shoved free, hitting the pavement hands first, gravel biting into the skin of her palms and knees. After the abrupt and hard release, she glanced around, searching for more attackers. All she saw were three dead vampires, however, and a pair of...

Hybrids?

Bonnie pushed herself into a kneeling position as one of the hybrids walked over to her and kneeled down in front of her. The hybrid, a slender young woman with honey-colored straight hair, bit into her wrist and offered it to Bonnie.

"No," Bonnie whispered, shaking her head. She was a little bit woozy, but she wasn't dying, and there was no way she was putting immortal blood into her system. She would _not_ become one of them, either by choice or by accident.

The hybrid shook her head but didn't force the issue. "Do you keep an emergency kit in your car?" she asked. Bonnie nodded. The hybrid motioned for her partner, a short dark haired young man, to retrieve the kit, and she offered Bonnie a hand up. Bonnie, still feeling weak, accepted it.

"I'm Amber," the hybrid introduced herself. "And that is Mark."

Mark brought the kit over to Amber, who dug through it and pulled out a small square of gauze and some white tape. Amber pressed the gauze to Bonnie's neck.

"Hold this," she instructed Bonnie, and then she ripped a couple inches of tape and secured the bandage to Bonnie's throat.

"Why did...how...?" Bonnie was disoriented, but she was aware enough to understand that these hybrids were not her enemies. At least, not at the moment. They'd saved her life. She just didn't understand why.

"Klaus didn't tell you?" Amber asked, handing the tape back to Mark, who put the kit back into Bonnie's car. "He assigned us to keep an eye on you."

That got Bonnie's attention. "What?"

"It's best if Klaus explains to you," Amber said, reaching out to guide Bonnie to her car. Bonnie pulled her shoulder away from the hybrid, who didn't push the issue.

"I'll drive you back to the house," Amber told her, realizing that Bonnie still wasn't in any shape to drive.

Bonnie, not particularly thrilled by this turn of events, nodded anyway, knowing it was the only way she was likely to get home safely anytime soon. Her head was pounding. She climbed into the car and handed the hybrid her keys.

. . . .

. . . .

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Klaus looked up, surprised at the sudden scolding as Bonnie walked into the living room.

Bonnie flinched when Klaus zoomed over to her. He sniffed, and Bonnie backed up a step, realizing that having a fresh wound around a vampire wasn't the best idea. She briefly wished she'd taken Amber up on her offer of blood, but she shook her head, knowing that it was for the best she kept the vampire and hybrid bloods out of her system. Only once had she ingested vampire blood, Stefan's, and that had been before she'd ever known vampires existed, and only because she'd likely have died without it.

"You're having me followed!" she accused, anger making her words sharp.

"It looks like it was a good decision," Klaus told her, reaching out to touch her jaw, to move her face so he could see her bandage.

Bonnie batted his hand away. "I can take care of myself."

"Apparently not as well as you thought," Klaus answered.

"It's an invasion of privacy," Bonnie pointed out. "Do they follow me everywhere I go?"

"Everywhere outside of this house," Klaus said.

Bonnie thought on that for a moment. They followed her to classes? To lunch? To her work-study job? They watched her every move?

"I don't need your bodyguards," she argued, still angry. She reached up to touch the bandage on her neck, but her fingers tangled in the chain of the amulet. "It's about the Eye of the Jackal, isn't it?"

"What?" Klaus asked, surprised by the question.

"That's why you're guarding my safety," Bonnie said. "It isn't because you want me alive. It's because you want the amulet, and the only way you'll get that is by keeping me alive."

Klaus scowled at Bonnie's words.

"I don't want your bodyguards," Bonnie said, heading towards the kitchen. "And I sure as hell don't need them."

"Like them or not," Klaus answered to her back, "you're not getting rid of them."

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was bored silly. She was the only one in the house, and all of her work was done, and she just didn't feel like practicing her magic any more than she already had. Klaus was out with his hybrids, she presumed.

She climbed off her bed and headed for the hallway. She'd explored most of the house already, but there was always this one room that Klaus had been reluctant to let her see.

"But he's not here now, is he?" Bonnie asked, almost skipping in her eagerness. Soon, she was standing outside the door, which was just off the main living area, next to the main stairwell that led directly up to the third floor and to Klaus's suite.

The door was locked, but that wasn't a deterrent. Bonnie had expected this, and she'd learned a simple unlocking spell. She whispered a few words in Latin, and suddenly, the doorknob turned easily under her hand. Casting a quick glance around and seeing no one, Bonnie slipped into the room.

It was midafternoon, and streaks of light illuminated the empty room. From corner to corner of the fairly spacious room, the only things she could see were dust and cobwebs.

_Empty_? Bonnie wondered. _Why on earth would Klaus be so determined to keep me out of this room if there's nothing in here?_

Suspicious, Bonnie took a more careful walk around the room. It wasn't until she was walking over the old rug that she heard it, a hollow sound underfoot. Kneeling, she lifted up a corner of the rug and tossed it aside. Underneath, she could see a faint square outline. There was a ring, embedded into the floor enough to not create a bump, near the far edge of the square. Bonnie moved to it, grasped it, and gave it a tug.

The square lifted up, startling her with how easily it opened.

Inside was darkness. There were stairs leading down from the edge Bonnie had opened, but the sunlight only lit a few feet down, and she couldn't tell where the stairs led.

"There has to be some sort of light down there," she mumbled, not understanding why she was even contemplating going down the stairs. But Klaus was keeping something carefully guarded, and Bonnie couldn't help being curious.

"I know I'm going to regret this," she whispered, wondering what kind of Pandora's box she was opening. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath before stepping down onto the first step. She continued on down, one hand against the damp, dirty wall, one hand held blindly out in front of her as she stepped out into darkness. She could see nothing, but her other senses were on overload. The walls of the staircase were damp and cold, and felt like hard packed dirt. Smelled like it too. She started to lose hope that there would be actual lighting wherever it was she was heading. She stumbled when she reached the bottom.

It was pitch black around her. She glanced back up the stairs, at the dim and fading sunlight. She wished she'd thought to grab a flashlight, but maybe there were candles or something. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, and suddenly, there was light in the room. It wasn't much, but the handful of candles that were strung randomly around the walls were better than the still darkness.

There was just enough light for Bonnie to get a faint glimpse around the room. Along each of the four walls was a coffin, with a fifth coffin in the center of the room.

Coffins? Bonnie wondered, somewhat freaked out. Was Klaus carrying dead bodies around with him? Had these been what was hidden inside those huge crates in the back of the moving truck?

A sound from upstairs let Bonnie know she was no longer alone in the house. Quickly extinguishing the candles, she ran back up the steps, peeked around the room to make sure it was empty before she exited, and hurriedly recovered the hidden door. She listened at the main door until she was fairly certain that no one was in the living room, and then she poked her head out the door to double check. No one was around, so she slipped through the door and used her magic to relock it.

Then, as calmly as she could, she headed back to her room to think about what she'd just found.

. . . .

. . . .

"Why are we here again?" Bonnie asked, lifting her foot up and adjusting her shoe. She hated running around in heels, but Klaus always insisted she dress to the nines for these events. At least the dress was less revealing than the last few he'd chosen, even if the shoes were incredibly uncomfortable.

"Because Art Berner and Francesca Balcer are here," Klaus answered, offering her his hand.

Bonnie stared at his hand for a full minute before finally taking it. He squeezed her fingers hard enough to remind her exactly which one of them was in charge. Bonnie scowled, but she followed along, determined to play her part to the hilt.

"Remember," he said, leaning down and whispering in her ear. "I need you on your best behavior tonight."

Bonnie pulled away, putting distance between her face and his mouth. She was angry that he kept running hot and cold, and frustrated that he wasn't falling for her deal-breaking game. She reached out and slid her fingers down his stubbly cheek. "Oh, don't worry, baby. I will be."

Klaus grabbed her fingers and pulled them away from his face. Anger briefly lit in his eyes, but then he smirked; he knew exactly what she was up to, and she wasn't going to win. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "My lady."

Bonnie flushed and pulled her fingers away. Sucking in a deep breath, she stepped into the swanky bar.

The Wolf's Head was half-crowded, and the patrons were all dressed the way Bonnie and Klaus were dressed, in suits and fancy dresses. But underneath the fanciness, Bonnie could feel a current of power.

Bonnie inhaled sharply. "Is everyone in here a werewolf?" she asked, already knowing the answer to her question before Klaus spoke.

"Not everyone, love," he said, lifting his eyebrows at her. Of course not. He was half-vampire, and she was both witch and human. But from what she could tell, she was the only non-were in attendance. She felt greatly outnumbered, and it made her uncomfortable. Even after she spotted Amber and Mark, her hybrid bodyguards, in the crowd, she didn't feel any more relaxed.

Klaus led Bonnie over to the bar, where he ordered a bourbon. Bonnie shook her head, not wishing for a drink in a bar while completely surrounded by werewolves. Bonnie wanted her head clear just in case she needed to use magic at some point in the evening.

"Dance with me," Klaus instructed, setting his empty glass down and holding his hand out. "Berner and Balcer will come to us."

Bonnie eyed his hand warily, but then she took it, remembering that they needed to put on a good show, especially surrounded by a hostile crowd.

Klaus led Bonnie to the dance floor and turned to face her. She looked up at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. He could tell she didn't like the situation; the smirk on his face gave him away. He let his hands roam lower and lower on her waist, softly laughing at the anger building in her eyes. He could tell she wanted to say something, so he leaned his head down to better hear her.

"If we weren't surrounded by werewolves," Bonnie said, squeezing her fingers into his forearm, "you would be seriously regretting this right now."

Klaus laughed. "I think I'd enjoy that."

It was then that another couple on the dance floor bumped into them, and Bonnie looked up at them. It was a tall man with shoulderlength blond hair, and a taller woman, with long, straight reddish-brown hair. Bonnie knew immediately it was the pack leader and his second.

Bonnie put on her best smile and played along with Klaus as the two pairs began negotiations on the dance floor. After a minute, Balcer suggested they move to one of the more private back tables, and so they did. Bonnie noticed that Amber and Mark had moved closer to their current location. While not completely reassuring, it made her feel a little bit better to know that she had more than just Klaus as backup if things went badly.

Fortunately, they didn't. After about an hour of talking and negotiating, Berner and Klaus shook hands, and then Berner asked Bonnie for a dance. Bonnie glanced briefly at Klaus before agreeing.

Berner was nothing but charm, and he had Bonnie laughing long before the song they were dancing to was over. Bonnie noticed that Klaus and Balcer had joined them on the dance floor, and before the next song was completed, Klaus had maneuvered next to Bonnie and politely cut in, leaving the werewolves to themselves as he wrapped his arms around Bonnie again.

"What are you doing?" Klaus asked. His voice was low, dangerous. Surely he wasn't angry with her for accepting the pack leader's invitation to dance.

"Exactly what you wanted me to do," she answered, her eyes glittering with frustration. Knowing it would get his goat, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss to his jaw. She was aware of the werewolves keeping a close eye on them, and she was determined to give them a good show. She pressed herself against Klaus as he tightened his arms around her, and she swayed against him to the music.

Klaus leaned down to whisper in her ear. His words tickled, his lips barely brushing her earlobe.

"If your body keeps making these promises to me," he said, "soon I'm going to start collecting."

Bonnie pulled back just far enough to glare at him. Klaus met her gaze just as seriously, but one of his hands slipped down to cup Bonnie's right buttock, and he gave it a squeeze.

Startled, Bonnie squeaked out a protest, and then gave Klaus another dirty look as he smirked at her. That was enough of that.

"All right," she said, trying to free herself from his arms, and scowling when he wouldn't release her. "My duty here is done. I'm ready to head home."

"Ah," Klaus said, enjoying the knowledge that he was getting under her skin. "But the night's still young."

"Maybe for you," Bonnie said. "But-"

"Although," Klaus said, rubbing his stubbly cheek against her jaw as he pitched his words just for her, "we could go home together. After all, the night's still young."

Bonnie sucked in a deep breath, trying to still her racing heart. She knew he didn't plan to seduce her; he was just trying to provoke her. After a few seconds she felt calm enough to answer.

"Sorry, but I have classes early tomorrow morning," she said, "and I need a good night's sleep first."

"Well, then," he said, reluctantly releasing Bonnie, but not before he pressed an electrifying kiss to her throat. "You'd best get on home."

Bonnie bit back a gasp, wishing that Klaus wasn't so able to hear the ferocity of her heartbeat. Embarrassed that her body was determined to betray her in front of him, she wasted no time exiting the bar. She knew, without looking, that Amber and Mark would be close behind.

. . . .

. . . .

The second time Bonnie ventured down into the casket-filled basement, she went prepared.

This time, she waited until she knew Klaus was going to be gone for a decent amount of time, and she carried a flashlight. She'd even thrown on an extra layer of clothing, since the air was damp and chilly in the dark room.

Once inside the room, she tossed the rug aside and threw open the door, and then she took a moment to question her own sanity. What normal person would be in any hurry to _open_ several random caskets secreted away in a well-hidden basement?

_You're a witch_, Bonnie reminded herself, steeling her nerves. _You don't need garlic, holy water, or a stake. _Taking a deep breath, she plunged down into the darkness, the only light cut by the slender beam of her flashlight. Still, she managed not to stumble into the room this time, which she counted as a minor victory.

All five caskets were of the same dark wood, carefully carved and embellished. Bonnie wasn't sure who, or what, could possibly be inside, or why Klaus would be keeping so many coffins, but she was about to find out.

She tried the middle casket first, but it wouldn't open, even after she tried her unlocking spell. With a sigh, she moved on to the second casket, expecting that one to be locked as well.

The second casket was on the wall next to the opening by the door. As nervous as she was, and as creeped out, curiosity still overcame her fears. Bonnie rearranged her grip on the flashlight and lifted the lid.

It took both hands to lift, and once it was secured open, Bonnie backed away quickly and aimed her flashlight inside. The off-white material inside was clean. The coffin was empty.

Bonnie sighed in relief. If one coffin was empty, perhaps all of them were, though she doubted the one that was secured shut could possibly be empty. At the same time, her mind told her no, that Klaus wouldn't be so fiercely protective of empty coffins. She gently lowered the lid to the second coffin and moved on to the next, which was located against the next wall.

She repeated her previous actions, lifting the lid with difficulty, and then backing away and shining her light into the casket.

There was a young man inside this one. He was dessicated, and he had a silver dagger sticking out of his chest.

That must be what the daggers look like, Bonnie thought, having never actually seen one. She'd heard all about them, however, since Elena had used one on Elijah at one point after Damon and Alaric had tried and unwittingly failed.

Bonnie took a closer look at the young man. Despite his shrunken-in appearance, he looked to be about her age, perhaps a little bit older. His hair was a sandy brown, but his features looked similar to Elijah's.

Klaus is keeping his siblings here, she thought suddenly, thinking back to the night Elijah had failed to kill Klaus after they'd given him the perfect opportunity. Klaus had bought his own life with the lives of his siblings, she remembered, glancing back at the empty casket.

There had been nine original family members, Bonnie recalled from the history Elena had gotten from Rebekah and Elijah, and from what they and Alaric had pieced together from the cave drawings. Mikael and Esther, the Original Witch. The parents. One child who had died before they came to the continent. The one who'd been killed by werewolves, Henry or Henrick or something. Elijah and Klaus. Rebekah. And that left two other originals.

This boy is one of them, Bonnie thought, looking around again. Two more coffins to check.

She lowered the casket lid and moved onto the fourth.

There was another young man in the next casket. He was just as dessicated as the first one, and he looked quite a bit like him, though perhaps a few years older, closer to Elijah's age. He wore clothing she could only describe as swashbuckly, almost like a pirate, and he had shoulder length brown hair. She wondered how long he'd been daggered, how long the other one had been daggered.

It was the fifth coffin that surprised her.

Elijah was in it.

Bonnie stepped closer, curiosity flooding her. How had he ended up in one of the coffins? The last she'd seen of him, he'd fled with Klaus. She noticed the silver dagger in his chest. Who could have gotten close enough to him to dagger him, especially on Klaus's watch?

And in a flash, she just knew.

That's not possible, she thought. Klaus is a vampire, and the daggers kill vampires who use them.

"But he's not just vampire," Bonnie whispered, reaching out and touching the dagger, running her fingers over the smooth silver handle. "Maybe his werewolf half protects him. Or maybe being an Original does."

Could she use this information against Klaus? She looked back at the empty casket, wondering how Rebekah had managed to stay dagger-free; Klaus clearly didn't have her in his possession. Although she hadn't seen anything of Rebekah since the vampire had moved out, she wondered if Rebekah had worried she'd end up daggered down here with her brothers. Maybe that was why she'd left in the first place.

Bonnie closed Elijah's casket. She didn't know what she thought about all the Original siblings being entombed beneath the house, or how she could use that to her advantage. As she headed for the stairs, she knew she didn't have any idea how she could use the siblings against Klaus, but just knowing about them made her feel more secure.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie scribbled a sentence on her assignment and glanced across the living room. Klaus was sitting in the chair opposite her, in front of the fireplace, a glass of bourbon in his hand, an old book in his lap. He was casually flipping through the pages, noticeably paying only half-attention to the contents. She was a little curious about the book, but not enough to ask him about that. She had other things she needed to know.

"Have you seen Rebekah lately?" she asked, feigning far more interest in her work than she actually felt. She'd debated for days about asking Klaus about his siblings, but she couldn't keep her curiosity inside anymore. Why was his family daggered and in coffins in the basement?

"Rebekah?" Klaus repeated, startled by the question.

"Yes," Bonnie confirmed, looking up from her books. "I haven't seen her since right after graduation, and I was wondering where she disappeared to."

"Bekah and I had a bit of a...disagreement," Klaus answered carefully.

"What about?" Bonnie asked, hoping she wasn't overplaying her hand. There was a fine balance between getting information and pissing off the thousand year old hybrid, and she knew she had to straddle that line without falling off.

"You, actually," Klaus answered. "She didn't like me 'shacking up' with a 'filthy human.'"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at him. Shacking up? That wasn't _remotely_ accurate. There was no _shacking_ going on. And a filthy human? Well, that was half right, but the rest annoyed her.

"Her words, love," Klaus said. "Not mine."

"So, she doesn't like me?" Bonnie asked, pretending to be surprised. Rebekah had made no secret of her disdain for the witch, even going so far as to mock her to her face when they'd run into each other.

Klaus didn't buy her act. "No more than you like her."

"What about Elijah?" Bonnie asked, throwing caution to the wind. She wanted to know what Klaus would say about his dearly daggered brother.

"What about him?"

"Where's he been?" she asked, knowing that she was in danger of pushing too far. "The last I saw of him, the two of you were fleeing together."

Klaus laughed softly at the memory. She had threatened to kill both him and Elijah, and Elijah had literally raced the two of them away before she could react. "You weren't very pleased by that, were you?"

"He betrayed us," Bonnie said. The frown on her face was real. He hadn't harmed them, but in the end, he'd hurt them just the same.

"I reunited him with the rest of our family," Klaus answered. "As he wanted." The hybrid paused for a few seconds. "And I haven't seen him since."

Bonnie nodded. He wasn't technically lying, but he was being very loose with the truth. She glanced back down at her school work, hoping, but not expecting, that to be the end of the conversation.

"Why are you suddenly so curious about my family?" Klaus asked.

Bonnie had been prepared for this question. Nonetheless, her mouth went dry when he asked it. She swallowed hard before answering.

"Even with your hybrids watching me," Bonnie said, "it would be so easy for one or both of them to get past."

"You're afraid?" Klaus asked, sounding surprised but pleased. It wasn't every day his witch admitted to having a weaknesses or fears.

"Not much gets past my guard," Bonnie answered, pretending to be angry. "But I just don't want either of them to catch me unaware."

"Have no fear, Bonnie," Klaus said. "Neither of them will bother you. I can promise you that."

. . . .

. . . .


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Seven**

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie sighed with pleasure as the sun soaked into her back. For early October, the weather was unseasonably warm, and so she'd taken her books outside to a small table provided by students to use between classes. She had her cryptozoology book open on the table in front of her, but she couldn't help but be distracted by her surroundings today. The trees were still green, the grass well-maintained and vibrant. She closed her eyes, soaking in the beauty of the day.

"Hey, Judgy."

Bonnie was startled by the voice, and her eyes popped open in surprise. Across from her sat the last person she ever expected to see again.

"Damon?" His dark hair looked shorter, but for the most part, he looked exactly the same as the last time she'd seen him. Darkly handsome, with bright blue eyes and a killer smirk. His eyes glittered with amusement at having caught her unawares.

"Did you miss me?" he asked.

Bonnie glanced around. "Did anyone else come with you?" She looked to find Elena, or maybe Stefan if they'd managed to subdue his Ripper instincts, or Caroline.

"I'm alone," Damon told her, his words causing her to focus on him. His eyes had lost their merriment, and she sensed more meaning than just an answer to her question in what he said.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, still stunned that he was there, sitting across from her on the other side of the country from where she'd last seen him. "How did you even find me?"

Damon smirked again. "It wasn't easy, but Stefan remembered a couple of Klaus's old haunts, and with a little bit of computer work, we were able to track you down."

"What are you doing here?" she repeated.

"Everyone's worried about you," Damon told her, his eyes darkening, indicating the seriousness of what he was saying. "But Elena's still hard at work trying to help Stefan overcome certain ... urges, and Caroline is having trouble keeping both Tyler and Matt from coming to blows over a variety of things, so I was the only one available for the trip."

Bonnie noticed that he didn't say anything about Jeremy, but then, Jeremy had always been a footnote, an afterthought, to the vampire. She was relieved, though, that Damon wasn't saying anything bad about him, either. Although she was pretty much over her best friend's younger brother, what he'd done to her still hurt a bit.

"Well, it's good to see you, Damon," Bonnie told him, smiling at him. As much as she'd never approved of Damon's behavior, he was nowhere near as moody or unpredictable as Klaus. And to her surprise, her words were true. It _was_ good to see someone from back home. Even if that someone was Damon.

A wicked glint entered Damon's eyes to match his smirk.

"Never thought I'd hear those words from your lips, Judgy," Damon told her with a grin.

Bonnie shrugged, grinning back. "Never thought I'd say them."

There was a moment of comfortable silence before Damon spoke again.

"So, really, Bonnie," he said, "how are you? How's Klaus treating you?"

"I'm good," Bonnie assured him. "I graduated from high school, and I'm studying wiccan history here."

"So he gives you a good amount of freedom," Damon noted, standing up and walking around to Bonnie's side of the table and sitting back down. "But how does he treat you?"

"Better than I expected," Bonnie answered. "But then, he wants the amulet."

"The amulet Anna led you to find?" Damon asked.

"Yes," Bonnie answered. "The Eye of the Jackal." She explained the power behind it, and the ways the amulet's magic could die. "It offers me a level of protection I doubt I'd have had without it, as Klaus basically has to keep me safe in order to keep it safe."

Damon nodded, knowing the value of such a rare item. "So don't ever take it off."

"I don't," Bonnie told him.

"So, he protects you," Damon summarized. "But does he treat you well?"

"He's not very happy that I'm insisting upon living like a human," she answered, twirling her pencil around distractedly. She met Damon's eyes. "But he lets me do it. We don't interact very much, but lately he's been a lot more pleasant than he was for a while. He's very ... moody."

"Emotionally unstable," Damon corrected. "But he doesn't hurt you?"

Bonnie thought for a moment. Ever since the picnic the night she'd successfully done the creation spell for the first time, Klaus's behavior had calmed. He had stopped partying every night and had started to stay in, reading quietly in the evenings instead. Despite bickering with her a bit more, lately he'd been less moody, more friendly, more ... warm, if she had to choose a word.

"I think he's navigating in unfamiliar waters," Bonnie finally answered.

"What do you mean?"

"We're not what you'd really call friends," Bonnie said. "But we're friendly, and I don't think he's ever truly had any, so he's working hard to figure it out."

"You need to be really careful, Bonnie," Damon told her. "He could snap at any time, especially if he lets you in enough to care. He's a psychotic killer." Damon paused, as if debating something. "Or, you could just fly home with me."

_Home_? Bonnie closed her eyes again, soaking in the sunlight as she thought of home. She missed it, and her friends, very much. Home was very tempting.

But she'd made a deal. A deal with a vicious killer who was, as Damon had said, emotionally unstable. If she broke the deal, he'd extract revenge in a heartbeat, and she couldn't allow that. And there were other reasons, but she didn't want to think about those.

"I wish I could, Damon," Bonnie told him. "But I made an agreement, one that's protecting everyone back home from Klaus. If I were to leave, it would put everyone in danger."

"We can handle Klaus," Damon told her. "We've done it before."

"With Stefan's loyalties torn?" Bonnie asked. "With Tyler still under Klaus's thrall? You and Caroline are the only ones we can count on, and if Tyler were to bite either of you..."

"We'll take our chances," Damon said.

"And I can't risk that," Bonnie told him. "Not if simply staying here will prevent him from harming anyone I love."

Damon smirked.

"Awww, do you love me, Bonnie?"

"No," Bonnie said, shaking her head. Trust Damon to pick up on that particular word and run with it.

"Because," Damon said, grinning, "I am handsome. And witty, and athletic, and..."

"Arrogant? Cocky?" Bonnie grinned back.

"Absolutely," Damon agreed. A moment later, his grin faded. "Is there anything I can say to convince you to come back to Mystic Falls with me?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm sorry, Damon. I can't take that chance."

Damon nodded, as if he'd expected her to say that, but he'd had to try anyway. "Promise me you'll be careful."

Bonnie nodded. "I will."

"Give me your phone," he instructed, and Bonnie pulled hers out of her jacket pocket and handed it to him. She'd gotten a new one after Klaus had destroyed her old one. "Don't let Klaus know you have this." He handed the phone back to her. "My number's in there. Don't lose it. Use it, whenever you need to. And check in once in a while, so I don't have to fly out here all the time to check on you."

Bonnie smiled a little. "You worried about me?" She didn't know why she'd asked that, but she knew it was true. Damon Salvatore, the vampire who'd once tried to kill her, the vampire she'd snarked back and forth with since that day, was worried for her.

Damon grinned briefly. "No," he told her, "of course not." He looked down at the table. "Don't be ridiculous."

To Damon's great surprise, Bonnie suddenly hugged him. After hesitating a second, he hugged her back, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. Then, with a nod, he was gone.

. . . .

. . . .

A few days later, Klaus approached her after her classes had ended and told her to meet him at The Dunes at 11 p.m. that night. The Dunes was a small bar not far from campus, and Bonnie had been there once or twice with Klaus for quick business meetings. It was a decent bar, with a small dance floor and the occasional live band. Bonnie preferred going there to going to meetings at the Wolf's Head, since the Dunes was a mix of both humans and supernatural beings. While that made it a dangerous place for humans when they were around, Bonnie was still more comfortable there, knowing it wasn't completely filled with the enemy.

However, after the last meeting, where she'd done nothing but sit across the bar from Klaus and act as backup in case someone tried something the hybrid was unprepared for, Klaus had told her there would be no more meetings.

"I thought-" Bonnie said.

"I don't care," Klaus had cut her off. "We need to be there at eleven sharp." He'd met her eyes, and Bonnie had never been more relieved that he was unable to compel her. "So be there."

And just like that, he was gone, without even waiting for her to agree.

Bonnie had sucked in a sharp breath as she'd fought back a sudden urge to hit something, preferably Klaus. He wanted her to meet him there at eleven? She'd be there.

But he was going to get a whole lot more of her than he expected.

. . . .

. . . .

It was 10:55.

Klaus glared at the bank clock across the street from the Dunes as he stood outside the bar, waiting for Bonnie to meet him. His witch was always early, and she was usually outside waiting for him when he arrived, but tonight there was no sign of her.

10:56.

Klaus was not a patient man. He never had been, and no one kept him waiting, especially not a newbie witch, no matter how much power she possessed. Admittedly, Bonnie wasn't late yet. But she was late for her.

Klaus could feel his anger building as a handful of people walked around him and into the bar. Of course she had to pick tonight, of all nights, to act up. Baltman was someone he _needed_ to win to his cause, and with Baltman would come several dozen werewolves, and possibly a few more packs. But Baltman wasn't likely to show him the proper amount of respect without his resident witch there to aid in his show of power.

Klaus was half tempted to race back up to the house and haul her ass back down here with him. He couldn't believe that she'd disobey a direct order from him; he didn't ask much of her, but she defied him at every turn, especially now that she was boning up on her witchcraft at the college.

He fumed as the clock across the street turned to 11:00. Knowing he couldn't wait any longer, he stepped into the bar and walked up to the bartender. When he received his double shot of the best whiskey in the house, he took a barstool and spun around, searching for Baltman. After a couple of minutes, he spotted the wolf-man at the edge of a small crowd on the dance floor.

But more importantly, he spotted his witch, as well. She was in the center of the crowd on the dance floor, and she was dancing as if there was nothing but music in her world. She was dressed in a sinfully clingy short red dress, and she wasn't lacking for dance partners as she weaved a spell without any use of magic on her part. At least half a dozen men were clustered around her, desperate for just a little bit of her attention. Baltman was one of them.

As Bonnie spun around, Klaus's eyes locked on her graceful body, appreciating the curves anything but hidden by the low-cut dress. Klaus watched Bonnie, oblivious to everything but the music, as she danced with this guy and that guy. He didn't like it, the way they were all looking at her, the way they wrapped their arms around her body and rubbed against her as they danced. He drowned his annoyance in his whiskey, and before he knew it, he'd downed another pair of double shots. As Baltman stepped in to dance with Bonnie, Klaus had had enough. He set his empty glass down on the bar and headed towards the dance floor, determined to put an end to the parade of men touching her.

He cut through the crowd, a shark in shallow waters, a quick glare at this one and that one, his compulsion chasing them off faster than they could comprehend what was happening. Before long, only he and Baltman were left in the area surrounding Bonnie.

It only took Klaus a moment to cut in, giving Baltman a dark look as he did so. He wrapped an arm around Bonnie's stomach from behind as they danced, and her arm reached up and curled back around his neck.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here," she said, relaxing her body against his chest and looking up towards him.

"Were you, now?" Klaus asked, leaning closer to her ear as they continued to dance. "So, this whole show was for me?" His nose brushed her cheek, and he heard her sharp intake of breath before she answered.

"Of course," she said, wiggling her hips against him and eliciting a groan from Klaus, who tightened his arm around her waist. He pressed his mouth to her neck, worshiping the skin between her jaw and her ear with his lips as she continued to rub against him. He could feel his body reacting to the pressure of her curves against his hips, and he fought back a sudden urge to sink his fangs into her and suck her dry as he took her right there on the dance floor.

"Dammit, Bonnie," he said, growling at the witch as she worked her spell on him. The business meeting he'd come to the bar for was completely forgotten in his lust.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, grinding against the evidence of his desire and forcing another groan out of him.

"You do know what you do to me, witch," he breathed into her ear, grinning as she shivered in his arms. Not breaking contact with his body, she turned to face him.

"No," she answered. Her voice was soft, breathy. Klaus could hear her pulse racing at light speed. "What?"

Klaus had never been more sincere. "You bewitch me." The words escaped his lips before he could stop them, but it was too late to take them back.

Bonnie's eyes widened, and for a moment, he thought she was going to run away, and his arm tightened around her waist. He couldn't bear the thought of letting her go.

He saw the decision Bonnie made reach her eyes, and his breath caught as she leaned into him, rising up on her tiptoes, and brought her lips up close to his. She breathed against his lips for a second, and then she was gone, pulling free of his arms as she walked away.

Klaus was stunned, and he could barely think straight through his lust-filled haze. He reached out and grabbed her arm, and she whipped back around to face him. He pulled her to him.

"It's not very nice to tease me like that, pet," he told her as he was suddenly overcome by anger. It was all just a game to her, that's all it had ever been. She didn't want him. She didn't even like him.

And that's when he felt the hand on his arm. Big, strong, attached to a sinewy arm with a pair of wolf tattoos on it. Baltman.

"Let her go," Baltman said, stepping between Klaus and Bonnie. "Or you and I are going to have a problem."

_Shit_. Just what he needed. Not only to face off against a werewolf, but to face off against the very one he was there to treat with.

"There's no need for violence," Klaus said, thinking the exact opposite thing. Stubbornly, however, he held tightly to Bonnie's arm as the other man didn't back down. "On the other hand..."

A moment later, he held Baltman's heart in his hand, and the werewolf collapsed, dead, at Bonnie's feet. She gasped and jumped back, but Klaus still didn't release her. It was a credit to the work Klaus had put into compelling people in the bar in previous weeks that no one blinked an eye at the brutal ripping out of a man's heart.

Klaus dropped the heart to the floor and sighed. So much for aligning with Baltman's pack; he'd just have to arrange a meeting with Baltman's former second. Maybe a little bit of fear would buy him some respect within the pack. He looked up at Bonnie, who still had a stunned expression on her face at the sudden violence.

"I think it's time to go home, love," he said, sliding his hand down her arm to her fingers and dragging her behind him and out of the bar.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie knew she needed to do something to throw Klaus off his game. While she'd started out ahead in the getting-under-your-skin-game, he'd quickly caught back up, and he was even starting to turn the tide, perhaps pull ahead and annoy her more than she was doing to him.

And that was why she was down in the basement again, her hand on the dagger stuck in Elijah's chest.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she whispered as she grasped the handle and pulled. It was almost like the blade fought against her, not wanting to be free, but finally the last inch pulled free, and Bonnie staggered back a step as the vampire's body released the dagger.

Elena had told her it had taken a few minutes for Elijah to awaken when she'd pulled the dagger from him. Bonnie did _not_ want to be the only person around when the hungry vampire woke up. She hurried up the stairs, dagger still in hand.

. . . .

. . . .


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Eight**

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie stretched her legs and curled back up into the chair. She was toasty warm sitting in front of the fireplace in the living room, though it was unusual for the house to be empty of everyone except her; lately, at least one or more of the hybrids had taken to running around, keeping an eye on her, or fetching things for Klaus. Klaus wasn't around, either. If Bonnie hadn't had the house locked up tight, she might have found it a bit spooky, even with the warm glow of a lamp next to her chair.

She settled into her chair and opened her book up. Despite the dimness in the room, she strained to read the novel in the lamplight. The room was dark outside of the glowing embers and weak light of the table lamp.

A soft creak made Bonnie jump, and she looked around, startled. Had Klaus come home? Or was Elijah finally waking up?

"Is someone there?" she called out into the empty room. No one answered, and Bonnie, her heart racing, shook her head. "Stupid." There was no one in the old house but her, and she felt silly for calling out. She returned to her book.

A minute later, Bonnie heard another creak. She set the book on the table and stood up, determined to go see what was making the noise. Surely, if it was Elijah, he would be moving quicker, and more quietly. The hair on the back of her neck was standing up; she definitely wasn't alone. She grabbed the fireplace poker, but as soon as she turned around, she was slammed into the wall, her wrists pinned above her head. She still held the poker, but her attacker slammed her wrist into the wall, forcing her to let go.

Before Bonnie could defend herself using her magic, her attacker spoke, his words startling her in their raspiness.

"The iron in that poker would dispel a ghost," he said, "and the silver would hurt a werewolf. But it's never going to harm me."

Bonnie looked closer at the face before her.

"Elijah?" It _was_ the Original. He must have finally woken from death. She was relieved that he was the intruder, but at the same time, she was aware that he hadn't eaten in quite some time, and there was only one source of vampire food in the house. She was it.

"You?" Elijah asked, recognition slowly dawning in his eyes. "What are you doing in this house, Bonnie Bennett? And where is my brother?"

"Right here, Elijah," Klaus answered from the doorway. His voice was low, almost a growl. Bonnie was relieved that she didn't have to figure out an answer for that question, as she only sometimes knew where Klaus went when he left the house. If he wasn't in the house, or in the workshop, she had no idea where he'd be.

"You don't sound happy to see me, brother," Elijah addressed, still holding Bonnie's arms.

"Release Bonnie, and we can discuss it," Klaus said.

Elijah lifted an eyebrow. A moment later, he was speeding across the floor and slamming Klaus into the wall. Bonnie, suddenly free, almost fell over at the abrupt release, but she managed to regain her footing.

Instead of fighting back, Klaus just started laughing. Elijah slammed his brother into the wall again, but by then, Bonnie had fully recovered. With a thought, she sent Elijah flying across the room, and she pinned him to the wall with her magic. She was ready to do the same to Klaus had he chosen to move, but he just leaned against the wall. Still, she kept her guard up. There was no point in letting the two Original vampires, one now a hybrid, engage in a bloodbath in the house.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked, anger masking her fear. Yes, she'd undaggered Elijah to cause strife with Klaus, but she hadn't expected to be stuck in the middle of the two Originals. Now that she was, however, she was going to get some answers. "The last time I saw you, Elijah, you were helping Klaus. Why are you attacking him now?"

"Do you want to tell her, brother, or shall I?" Elijah asked, his mouth grinning while his eyes remained serious. "Especially as you clearly hold the witch in thrall. I'm surprised you haven't told her already."

"I am _not_ compelled," Bonnie said. "I'm here by choice."

Elijah looked surprised, and a quick glance at Klaus showed that he looked arrogant and amused. He was pleased that she was choosing to be there with him.

"I used the dagger you all planned to use against me on Elijah," Klaus told her as his eyes settled on a small, decorative jar on the fireplace mantle. Bonnie glanced briefly at it, wondering if that contained ash to use with the daggers.

"But how is that possible?" Bonnie asked. "The dagger is supposed to mean death for any vampire who uses it. Did you survive because you're an Original and immortal?"

Klaus shrugged, which Bonnie took to mean probably.

"What I want to know," Klaus said, glaring over at Elijah, "is who pulled the dagger from you, brother?"

"I don't know," Elijah answered. "I was alone when I woke up. I thought at first it was your witch who'd done it, but she clearly didn't even know I was stuck down in the basement."

"Basement?" Bonnie asked, knowing if she didn't play her part, Klaus would know she'd done it, and he'd kill her without a second thought.

Sensing a shift in the tension, Bonnie released Elijah, who gave her a fairly pissed off look, but he held his ground, not making a move on either her or Klaus.

Klaus scowled. "And while we're on the subject of secrets, love," he said, addressing Bonnie, "I know you have a secret as well."

"Are you talking about Damon?" Bonnie asked, surprised that he knew, but on another level, not surprised at all. The hybrids he had following her must have told him. "That's no secret."

Klaus lifted an eyebrow at her. "So that's why you haven't mentioned his visit yet?" he said, his voice menacingly low. He wasn't happy about Damon coming to see her, she could tell, but she knew he was more angry that she hadn't told him. "How did he even know you were here?"

"I don't know," Bonnie said. "He said something about Stefan remembering a few of your old haunts. He flew out here and found me at the campus. Elena sent him to check up on me, and he asked me to go back to Mystic Falls with him."

"Then why are you still here?" Klaus asked, glancing away, studying the floor, looking almost afraid of her answer.

"Because I gave you my word," she answered, "and I always keep it."

As she finished speaking, Bonnie felt a tug on something inside her, like something was trying to force her magic out of her against her will. _The amulet?_ she wondered as she gasped and stumbled, and she would have landed on the floor, but Klaus was instantly there to catch her.

Elijah, still standing by the wall, was stunned by his brother's actions. He'd seen Klaus around his witches before, and around his other vampires. But he'd never seen him acting like this, like he ... cared? Like he was concerned about the witch's well-being? He observed his brother helping Bonnie back to her feet, and holding onto her gently, almost tenderly. If it had been anyone besides Klaus, he'd have been positive about what he was seeing. As it was, he was still fairly certain, even if his brother had no idea.

"Leave us," Elijah said to Bonnie. "I wish to speak alone with my brother."

"Not if you're going to attack him," Bonnie answered, standing her ground despite nearly collapsing just a couple of minutes ago. She raised her jaw defiantly.

"I'll be all right, Bonnie," Klaus told her, touching her arm. "Even if Elijah has the dagger, it won't work against me."

Bonnie looked at him for a moment, not daring to tell him that _she_, and not his brother, had the dagger. Then, realizing he was right, she nodded. She grabbed her book off the stand where she'd left it when she'd first heard Elijah behind her and headed for the stairs.

As soon as Bonnie was out of earshot, Elijah sat down in the chair Bonnie had abandoned.

"This is quite the surprise, Niklaus," he said, relaxing in the chair that had once been his, over a century ago. A lifetime ago, had it been anyone else's life.

"And what is that, Elijah?" Klaus asked, stretching himself out on the sofa. While Elijah was more than capable of a physical attack, he knew his brother was more likely to take a verbal offensive, so he decided he might as well get comfortable.

"You," Elijah said. "You are soft on the little witch."

"Don't be ridiculous," Klaus denied, refusing to meet his brother's eyes.

"She's here because she chooses to be?" Elijah asked. "That makes her the first person you haven't had to compel for her company in centuries, well, other than Stefan in the 20s. That makes her different. And you're different with her. You're very ... protective."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Klaus answered, clearly not wanting to discuss the subject. Elijah shrugged and allowed Klaus to change the subject, but he knew he'd find a way to bring the subject up again sometime in the future.

"So, you really don't know who awakened you?"

Elijah shook his head. "As I said earlier, no one was around. There was just a couple of small bags of blood left beside the coffin."

"Then it was probably Rebekah's doing," Klaus guessed. He explained how he and their sister had a falling out recently, because she had been acting like a spoiled teenager, and how she'd moved out, though he had no idea where she was staying.

"You were trying to be her father again, weren't you?" Elijah guessed.

"Why would you say that?" Klaus asked, feeling defensive. Something about Elijah's words always made him feel defensive.

"Because you always try to be her father, Nik," Elijah answered. "You may have your true father's bloodlines, but you got your controlling side from Mikael."

"Speaking of Mikael," Klaus said, gritting his teeth at any sort of comparison between him and the man who'd been terrorizing him for a thousand years. "Our favorite Mystic Falls friends found where he'd been chained up, and they released him."

"That's impossible," Elijah said. "I oversaw the interrment myself. There was no way they could have freed him. How could they have even found him?"

"Bonnie told me that Katherine and Damon had forced Elena's little brother to speak with one of his ghost friends," Klaus answered. "Apparently _she_ knew where he'd been laid to rest, and she told them. Damon told me they'd found him."

"But have you seen him?" Elijah asked, apparently not convinced that Mikael could be loose.

"I didn't stick around to wait for him," Klaus answered. "But Bonnie assures me that he was found, even though she never saw him."

"What makes you think we can trust the witch?" Elijah asked, curious that his brother apparently trusted the uncompelled outsider.

"Because she's as self-sacrificing and true as they come," Klaus answered. "She traded her company to me for Stefan's freedom, for my hybrid Tyler's freedom. And she hasn't betrayed me."

"Yet," Elijah said, watching Klaus's reaction carefully.

"I don't believe she will," Klaus said.

"You said that about Stefan," Elijah reminded him, "and look how that turned out. You said that about Katherine five hundred years ago."

"You still carry a torch for her," Klaus observed.

"I do not," Elijah told him.

"Funny how you're worried about Bonnie betraying me," Klaus pointed out, "when the Petrovas have always been the ones to betray us, not the Bennetts."

Elijah just lifted an eyebrow and let the subject drop.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was running late when stepped into the living room and stopped dead, startled to see Elijah sitting in the room, even though she shouldn't have been. Klaus had a soft spot for his siblings, as they were pretty much his only regular companions over the past thousand years, even if they weren't exactly friends, and she should have expected that he'd be staying at the house with them.

"Good morning," she said, grabbing the bag with her class books in it. It was almost ten, and she had a class at ten. She headed for the door, and she'd just turned the handle when Elijah spoke.

"Witch, come here," he said.

Bonnie stopped, then glanced at him. There was no malice in his request, so Bonnie decided that she could take a minute to see what he wanted. After all, it never hurt to keep on the good side of a vampire, especially one of the Originals.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd call me Bonnie," she told him, receiving an amused grin as she walked over.

At that moment, Klaus staggered into the living room with three scantily clad girls who were clearly heading home; Bonnie felt a little tug of disappointment - that's all it was! - that Klaus had apparently returned to his partying ways, but on the bright side, at least the girls were leaving the house still in one piece, alive and breathing.

"That's a plus," she said under her breath, turning away, not understanding why the sight stung, and not willing to examine the reason. She ignored the giggly, seductive, obnoxious girls and Klaus as he sent them on their way; Elijah, however, studied both the scene, and Bonnie's reaction to it, until Bonnie interrupted.

"I'm sorry to hurry you along," she told him, "but I have to be at class in ten minutes."

"Of course," Elijah said, ever polite, when he wasn't threatening her life. "Please, sit down. This will only take a couple of moments."

The door slammed shut, and the room was mostly quiet, except for Klaus, who was keenly aware, despite being blood-drunk, of Bonnie's typical class schedule.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" he asked, staggering back through the room and stopping in the doorway to address the witch.

"I'm leaving in a minute," Bonnie answered. "Elijah just wanted to speak to me for a minute."

Klaus's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Suddenly, all signs of drunkenness fled Klaus's actions. "And what might the two of you have to speak about?" He strode into the room, his eyes full of angry fire.

"Quite a bit," Elijah answered. "Though I just have some questions for the wi - for Bonnie."

Bonnie smiled at Elijah correcting himself.

"Fine," Klaus said, noticeably not fine with it, but unwilling to admit to either of them that his brother questioning his witch bothered him. He turned around and left the room.

"I'm guessing my brother hasn't been partying in a while?" Elijah asked, having recognized the reaction to the incident on Bonnie's face. She shook her head. "Then I'm afraid it's my fault he's returned to it. I said something yesterday that he didn't like very much, and it's just like him to react this way to try and prove me wrong, although really his behavior only proves me correct."

"What did you say to him?" Bonnie asked, curious. The last time Klaus had partied regularly had been immediately following the disagreement they'd had over the amulet, but he'd stopped when they'd made peace. However, Bonnie knew she'd done nothing to upset him this time.

"I told him what I observed yesterday evening after he returned to the house," Elijah answered. "From his interactions with you."

Bonnie looked puzzled. What would any of that have to do with Klaus's change in behavior?

"He's growing ... attached ... to you," Elijah explained.

"I don't understand," Bonnie told him. "Why would telling him that we're friends upset him?"

"I'm not certain _friends_ is the word to describe it," Elijah told her. "But Niklaus ... he doesn't care to admit to having any sort of weaknesses. And to him, love is the greatest weakness. And therefore, he will do anything and everything to prove that he's not weak."

"You're not trying to tell me you think he has feelings for me?" Bonnie argued. "I promise you he doesn't. We get along, and we're ... friendly, I guess. But-"

"He shows concern for your well-being," Elijah pointed out.

"That's only because of the amulet," Bonnie told him. She slipped the talisman from inside the neck of her shirt to show him. "If anything happens to me, then the magic in this amulet dies, and he'll never have it."

"The Eye of the Jackal," Elijah identified on sight. He reached out and held the stone for a moment before releasing it. "That's a very powerful and very dangerous weapon you wear, Witch."

Bonnie noticed that Elijah had returned to calling her by what she was, not who, but she let it go.

"I know Klaus can't take it from me without destroying the magic in it," Bonnie answered. "And that the only way he's ever going to get it is by keeping me safe so I can die a nice, natural, death many decades from now."

Elijah chuckled. "Sounds like a good insurance policy."

Bonnie smiled. "That's the idea."

Then Elijah's amusement faded. "But take care, because that amulet could destroy you."

Bonnie didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"

"The Jackal," Elijah began, "was a man who believed that with great reward comes a great price." He sighed and leaned forward in his chair. "So when the witch who created the amulet poured his spirit into the gem, he made her promise to exact a price upon the wearer, that whomever used the amulet would get great power, but they would also have to pay."

Bonnie thought about the few times she'd used the amulet since having it. At the church, it had only been in her possession a couple of hours. Back at the school, when the vampires had attacked, she'd passed out from trying to use too much magic, and she'd used it up much more quickly than she should have. And then only yesterday, when she'd used magic to separate Klaus and Elijah, she'd almost collapsed, and she'd barely touched her magic, but something had touched it.

"You know what I'm talking about," Elijah told her, seeing the confirmation in her eyes. "You will have to use your magic sparingly, and wisely, because the amulet will basically recharge itself using you."

"But if I gave the amulet away?"

"Then it would stop draining you," Elijah answered. "But you'd give away any protections you have from Klaus, and you'd be handing him the key to invincibility."

"I don't understand," Bonnie said. "Invincibility? I thought it was a weapon he could use against Mikael."

Elijah shook his head. "It will definitely give him an edge against Mikael, but it's not a weapon for him. It's more like a shield."

"How so?"

"The amulet gives the wearer immunity to the wood of the white oak ash tree," Elijah answered.

"The tree used to create the Originals," Bonnie pieced together. "And the only thing that can destroy you."

"If Klaus gets the amulet, he won't be nearly invincible," Elijah told her. "There'd be no way to stop him. Mikael has the _only_ piece of white oak left in existence, and with the amulet, Klaus would have no reason to fear him."

Bonnie closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. No wonder why Klaus wanted it so badly.

"Thank you for telling me this," she said, opening her eyes.

Elijah nodded. "You realize, I could hurt Klaus right now by killing you and destroying the amulet."

"But you won't," Bonnie said, calling Elijah's bluff. "One, because you are far too honorable to harm me with no reason." Elena's description of Elijah was a fairly accurate one; despite Elena having double crossed Elijah _twice_ before the night Klaus broke the Sun-and-Moon Curse, Elijah had never harmed her. Admittedly, he'd broken his word to them to kill Klaus, but he'd been right on the brink before Klaus had convinced him otherwise.

"And two?"

Bonnie grinned. "Because if you were going to kill me, you wouldn't have told me what you were going to do before you did it. You'd just do it." Bonnie thought for a moment. "Look, you're an Original, and immortal... I could just give you the amulet and trust you to protect me."

Elijah laughed. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I don't want Klaus trying to torture me for the next millennium." He shook his head. "Besides, even with the side effects, you are far safer keeping the amulet than you are giving it away."

The clock struck ten.

"Oh my god!" Bonnie said, jumping up. "I am _so_ late for class!" She grabbed her bag and raced for the door, rudely forgetting to say farewell to Elijah.

"You underestimate my brother's intentions," Elijah whispered after she was gone. "He's interested in far more than just that amulet."

. . . .

. . . .


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Nine**

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was alone in the living room with Elijah. Now that his bloodlust was sated, she found that she didn't fear him, not in the way she feared Klaus. Maybe because Elena felt she could trust him, and because despite Elena having betrayed Elijah on more than one occasion, he had done her no harm. She herself had threatened him, but he'd never given her a chance to make good on the threat.

She'd worked briefly with Elijah before he'd saved Klaus's life, and they'd gotten along fairly well. He seemed to respect witches; although, she had to admit, he'd been respectful of pretty much everyone, vampire, witch, and human alike. Despite his centuries of inhumanity, there was a gentleness in Elijah that she had only caught brief glimpses of in Klaus.

"Will you tell me about your family?" she asked, breaking the silence as she set her classwork aside.

Elijah looked startled, as if he hadn't expected Bonnie to address him.

"And what is it you'd like to know?" he asked, as pleasant as always. He took a sip of bourbon; like Klaus, and even like Stefan and Damon, he always had a glass of some sort in his hand. Sometimes his was liquor, but just as often, it was tea. Bonnie had never met a tea-drinking vampire before.

"Your brothers," she answered. "The other two."

Elijah raised an eyebrow at her. He didn't recall having told Elena that there'd been two more brothers; as far as he knew, the humans had only known of two more siblings.

"You did undagger me," he said, unconcerned that Klaus would hear them. Klaus had left the house shortly after Bonnie had returned home from classes.

Bonnie nodded. "And I know your two brothers are in caskets downstairs."

"And Rebekah?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know. She wasn't in the basement. I haven't seen her in a couple of months."

"Hmmmm," Elijah said, thinking. "Why?"

"Why what?" Bonnie asked, confused.

"Why did you undagger me?" Elijah asked. "The last time you saw me, you threatened to kill me if I spared my brother's life."

Bonnie shrugged again. "I'm guessing that Klaus daggered you?" The darkening of Elijah's eyes gave her the answer his lips wouldn't. "I know things are a bit contentious between the two of you." Again, it was Elijah's eyes, and not his silence, that gave him away. "It will put him on edge, not only having you undaggered, but thinking that Rebekah sneaked in and released you."

Elijah took a swallow of his bourbon. "And why me? Why not my brothers? Neither has betrayed you."

"Better the devil you know," Bonnie answered. "I understand why you saved Klaus, even if I don't like it." She paused for a minute. "Please, tell me about your brothers."

"You've seen both of them?" Elijah asked. He waited for Bonnie to nod before continuing. "The older of the pair is Finn, Finnick. He's a bit hot tempered, like Klaus. Like Mikael." He was quiet for a minute. "The two of them never got along. They were always bickering about something or other. When Finn came of age, he left the village, and he only came back after my parents begged his return. After we became immortal, he set off on his own again. He wanted nothing to do with Klaus or with the rest of us. He hated being a vampire, as much as Mikael does. I think he knew from the start that Klaus had-"

Elijah stopped speaking, as if he feared to say the rest of the sentence.

"That Klaus had killed your mother?" Bonnie finished. Elijah looked surprised. "We found the cave drawings." Elijah nodded, sufficiently satisfied by the answer.

"Klaus and Finn stayed as far from each other as they could," Elijah continued. "I'm not sure when or how Klaus found him, but it's been close to nine hundred years. I can guarantee he's in no hurry for Finn to be undaggered."

Bonnie nodded, not surprised that there was someone else who found Klaus to be irritating and overbearing.

"And then there's Kol," Elijah said. "He's the youngest of us, except for Rebekah, after we became immortals."

Bonnie sensed there was sadness in Elijah, who looked to be thinking of another younger brother, one Elena had told her and Alaric about after hearing the story of his death from Rebekah. She reached out and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He looked up, surprised by the gesture.

The front door slammed shut, startling Bonnie, who released Elijah's hand.

"It's nice to see you two getting on so well," Klaus said, his voice taut with anger. He stormed out of the living room and up the stairs to his suite without another word.

. . . .

. . . .

"What is it you're being so secretive about?" Elijah asked out of the blue one day.

Bonnie looked up from the grimoire she was studying. "I'm not being secretive," she said, smiling.

Elijah sat down next to her on the sofa. "Bonita, I know you're hiding something. Something from my brother."

Bonnie sucked in a deep breath, weighing her options about whether or not she could trust Elijah to keep her secret. If he didn't tell Klaus, maybe he would be of help, but doubtful; Klaus was his brother, after all. If he did tell Klaus, well, blow would come to blow, and she'd in all likelihood be either free of her deal with Klaus, or dead, though having possession of the amulet made that far less likely, since Klaus still wanted it for himself. In the end, she decided she trusted Elijah enough.

"I'm going to try and re-curse him," she said.

Elijah looked stunned. "Re-curse?"

"Yes," Bonnie answered. "To bind his werewolf side again."

"I'm not sure that's possible," Elijah said, the witch's words settling around and inside him.

"Neither am I," Bonnie admitted. "But it's the only plan I have."

"Even if you were to survive the casting of such a spell," Elijah said, "Klaus would hunt you until he killed you, like he did Mother. Look at Katherine. All she did was _escape_ from undoing his curse, and he hunted _her _for half a millenium."

Bonnie shrugged. "Maybe. But it's worth the risk." She gave Elijah a half-smile."Besides, I still have the dagger I pulled from you. And that should be enough to neutralize him once his werewolf half is bound."

Elijah looked grave. "What do you need for the spell?" Bonnie recited the list Anna had given her. "And what do you have?"

"The first four," Bonnie admitted. Less than half of what she needed, not to mention the blood sacrifice. And a couple of the items she didn't even recognize.

"The others don't grow around here," Elijah told her. "But I can get them for you."

Bonnie's head shot up. Elijah was offering to help her? "You know where to find them?"

Elijah nodded. "I have been around a few days," he said, sarcasm seeping through his words. "And I have enough experience working with witches to know where to find these."

"I'd appreciate the help," Bonnie said, smiling. Excitement was building inside of her; the possibility of gaining an advantage over Klaus was too much to contain.

"I have a few more contacts to visit before I leave," Elijah told her. "But I can mail you the ingredients as I find them." He instructed her to get herself a post office box before he left, so he could ship the spell ingredients to her without Klaus's explicit knowledge. With a nod, Elijah stood to go outside.

Bonnie stopped him with her words. "Thank you, Elijah."

Elijah gave her a smile and a nod, and then he left the house.

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus had been gone for a week, spending time with his new hybrid pack members and turning several others. When he returned home, his good mood flew right out the window.

The first thing he saw as he walked in the door was Bonnie. She was sitting on the sofa next to Elijah, and they were discussing Bonnie's Bennett ancestors. Both he and Elijah had known a few of them, but she'd never asked _him_ about them. Clearly, however, she had no qualms about asking Elijah. They were quite animated, laughing over some exchange Elijah'd had with Clara Bennett in 1790.

Klaus felt his stomach clench at the sight and sound. He'd stormed through, made a snarky comment on his way past, and kept going.

Over the next two weeks, it seemed like all he ever saw was Bonnie and Elijah smiling at each other while they visited, which seemed to him like it was _all_ the damn time, or all he heard was the pair talking and laughing. Bonnie _never_ treated him that way. Hell, _no one_ ever treated him that way. It was the one thing he wanted, uncompelled friendship. Something he'd hoped to maybe earn from Bonnie. She'd been living here for months, and he'd been unsuccessful. Elijah had only been around for about three weeks, and she'd given it to his brother in a fraction of the time.

Klaus felt like someone was sticking a dagger in his heart every time he saw or overheard them.

. . . .

. . . .

Elijah found Bonnie sitting in the living room. She had a grimoire on her lap, and she seemed immersed in whatever it was she was reading. He was half tempted to not bother her, but this was something they needed to speak about, and he wasn't sure there would be a better time.

"Bonnie," he said, getting her attention before he sat down next to her.

Bonnie looked up and smiled.

"There's something we need to discuss," he said. He knew he sounded serious, but this was a serious matter, and he didn't want her mistaking his words as something light hearted.

"What's wrong?" she asked, worry darkening her expression.

"I don't even know where to begin," Elijah answered truthfully. He'd never had this conversation before with anyone, and he couldn't really believe he was having it now, but the evidence was right in front of his eyes, and he felt positive that he was reading the situation correctly. Despite Bonnie's quick denials of his first attempt to tell her, he felt the need to make certain she listened and understood that he wasn't saying this lightly.

"Anywhere," Bonnie told him, setting the grimoire aside and focusing on him.

Elijah swallowed as he gathered his thoughts. The past. That was a good place to begin.

"My brother has never been one for love," Elijah said. He remembered numerous flirtations and courtships, but never had Klaus allowed anyone into his heart, for all that being all he truly wanted. He'd even courted Katherine, although he'd never loved her. His only plan had been to keep her close so he could sacrifice her to break his curse. "He's always seen it as a weakness, something to be exploited, something to be used to control someone, or to hurt someone."

Bonnie nodded.

"But love isn't something that can be controlled," Elijah said. "It takes hold when and where it wants, and it doesn't let go until _it_ chooses to do so."

Bonnie looked confused about where Elijah was going with his story, but she nodded again.

"You need to be careful with my brother's heart, Bonita," Elijah said.

Bonnie's eyebrows knit together at his words. "What do you mean?"

Elijah sighed, realizing that he wasn't being very clear. "You've been forcing Niklaus to feel, and it scares the hell out of him, so he refuses to face it."

"What are you getting at, Elijah?" Bonnie asked, still not understanding.

"I've known Klaus my entire life," Elijah answered. "And only once before have I seen him jealous of a woman's attentions. And that was a thousand years ago."

Realization dawned on Bonnie's heart-shaped face. "He's jealous of my attention?" She shook her head, denying the possibility of what Elijah was implying. "The only thing Klaus feels for me is contempt."

Elijah laughed softly. "You make him feel like a man, Bonita," he said. "And he's likely to both love you and hate you for it."

Bonnie was silent for a minute, letting Elijah's words sink in. "But, no. He doesn't even treat me like a real person."

Elijah smirked, and the expression clearly threw Bonnie, who wasn't used to seeing that expression on his normally well-schooled features.

"He doesn't know how to treat a real person," Elijah told her. "I've never seen him care for anyone other than family before. He may worry for his alliances, but to actually care? It's all new for him, and he's likely to resist the change."

"You're wrong," Bonnie said, shaking her head.

"Am I?" Elijah asked, the smirk relaxing into a soft smile. "Change is scary, Bonnie. Especially for someone who's become so insulated in his lifestyle that the thing he wants most is also the thing that scares him the most."

She didn't want to talk about Klaus, or his possible feelings for her. He _didn't_ care about her. He couldn't. It was ridiculous. She didn't want to think about it, or about how she felt about him, so she redirected the conversation back towards Elijah.

"And what about you?" Bonnie asked.

Elijah looked startled at the change of focus.

"Did you ever love someone?" Bonnie asked, desperate to think about anything besides what Elijah had just told her.

Elijah's expression turned from lightly amused to thoughtful, and slightly sad.

"Yes," he answered. "Twice. The first was the one I mentioned before. Klaus and I fought bitterly over her. And then there was this other girl..."

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, feeling sad for Elijah.

"She was being courted by Klaus," Elijah told her.

"I thought you said he hasn't loved since he was turned," Bonnie said, cutting in. Now she was more confused than ever.

"He courted her to keep her close," Elijah answered. "But he didn't love her."

"Oh," Bonnie said. The idea of courting someone you didn't care about was completely alien to her.

"And when she learned of his plans for her," Elijah finished, "she chose death rather than trusting to my aid."

And that was when Bonnie knew exactly who Elijah was talking about. The last Petrova doppelganger, prior to Elena, who'd become a vampire to escape Klaus, who Elijah had found a potion to save but had been unable to use to save her. It was no wonder Elijah had taken so quickly to Elena.

"Katherine," Bonnie whispered.

"Katerina," Elijah confirmed. "But she is not the kind of woman to love a man forever."

"You don't know that," Bonnie told him, rubbing his arm. She wasn't sure she believed her own words, and she didn't want to give Elijah false hope, but she had sensed, in the few run-ins she'd had with Katherine the last couple of years, that there was a lot more to the vampire than she let on.

Elijah smiled weakly. "Perhaps, once. Before she was turned. But she's not that woman anymore. She hasn't been for a long time."

Bonnie felt sorrow for Elijah building inside her. From what she knew of Katherine, she was at least five hundred years old. If Elijah had been pining for her all this time, she knew he must really care about her. It was no wonder he was so careful and protective of Elena. Not only had he been forced to watch Katherine play with both Stefan and Damon Salvatore, even the second doppelganger had been drawn to both the Salvatores.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said, still rubbing his arm. "It's her loss."

. . . .

. . . .

"Are you really going to go check to see if Mikael's been released?" Bonnie asked one morning when she and Elijah were sitting around the living room discussing various spell ingredients. They were alone; Klaus had left the house a few days ago and he had yet to return. Although it wasn't the first trip Klaus had taken since they'd arrived in Colorado, Bonnie couldn't help but wonder what he was doing, as Klaus never told her. She was pretty sure she wouldn't like the answer.

"Yes," Elijah answered, "I'm leaving in the morning."

"I'll miss you," Bonnie told him honestly. Elijah raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Don't look at me like that. This place is pretty quiet unless Klaus is here, and sometimes then it's a little bit _too_ loud. And besides, it's nice to have someone to talk with who doesn't go out of his, or her, way to antagonize me on a regular basis."

"You care about him," Elijah said. It was a statement and not a question. "He's always been impulsive, and he does many stupid things because of it. Because he's afraid. He'd rather have a ... caricature ... of intimacy than the real thing."

"Are you talking about the girls he brings back here?" Bonnie asked, trying not to grind her teeth at the memories. She hated it when Klaus brought a bunch of trashy girls back, and not just because it disturbed the peace. Because it disturbed _her_ peace, the part of her that was more than comfortable with denying that she felt anything at all for him.

"Them," Elijah answered. "The hybrids. He has all sorts of associates. It's friendship and love, true feelings, real relationships, that scare him."

"Speaking of things that scare him," Bonnie segued, curious. "Why is he so afraid of Mikael? I mean, Klaus has always been immortal, even before unlocking his werewolf side. What makes Mikael so scary to the scariest guy I know?"

Elijah was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Father always bullied Niklaus," he finally said. "And that was before he found out that he wasn't Nik's father. Afterwards..." Another pause. "Well, let's just say, Nik's never quite measured up to Mikael's expectations."

"That must have been difficult," Bonnie sympathized. While her own father had never approved of her using witchcraft, he had never judged her or hated her for it.

"But perhaps you should speak more about this with Niklaus," Elijah said, clearly not wishing to discuss Mikael, or Klaus, further.

Bonnie looked down at the root she was carefully packaging. "He's unlikely to tell me anything."

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit," Elijah comforted. "He's more likely to speak of it with you than with any one of us."

"Speak of what?"

Bonnie almost jumped out of her skin, and she turned to see Klaus lounging in the doorway with a scowl marring his handsome features.

"You two look ... cozy," Klaus said, stepping into the living room and letting the screen door slam shut behind him. "And what might you two be talking about?"

"Elijah was just telling me a little bit about Mikael," Bonnie answered, mostly truthfully.

"I don't really believe that your friends found him," Klaus said, collapsing onto the antique sofa next to Bonnie. "I think Damon was just bluffing when he told me that."

"But can you take that chance?" Elijah asked.

"And what chance is that, brother?" Klaus relaxed and stretched his arms out along the top of the back of the sofa. One of his hands absently began playing with Bonnie's curls, and she gave him a _what the hell do you think you're doing?_ look, but he ignored it, instead focusing on Elijah.

"What if he has been released?" Elijah asked. "What if he's storming around here, searching for you? What kind of danger does that put us all in? What about Bonnie?"

"He's not storming around here, or he'd have stopped in and confronted me already," Klaus answered confidently, gently tugging on Bonnie's curl. She gave him a dirty look, and he grinned back. "And Bonnie's the safest one of us all, since she's neither a vampire nor his enemy."

"Collateral damage," Elijah said. "If she gets between one of us and him, he'll go right through her."

"I can hold my own," Bonnie reminded him. She swatted Klaus's hand away from her hair, receiving another smirk as he tugged at her curl again. This time she ignored it. "But I appreciate you worrying about me."

"I'm going to assume from this conversation that you're headed to check on Mikael," Klaus said, batting lightly at Bonnie's hair. Bonnie, giving up on trying to get him to leave her hair alone, bit back a sigh. At least Klaus was in a fairly good, and clearly playful, mood; that was much better than the mood he'd been in when he'd gone away.

"In the morning," Elijah answered, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He glanced at the witch and nodded. "Bonnie." She smiled back, and the oldest of the Originals walked out of the room, leaving Bonnie alone with Klaus. The butterflies she'd felt when Klaus had arrived home started fluttering like crazy.

"You two seem awfully friendly," Klaus said, drawing the sentence out, tension dripping from his words.

Bonnie shifted, so she could see him better, she told herself, ignoring the fact that her main reason was to put a little physical distance between them, to calm her butterflies. She took a deep breath. Klaus held onto her curl until it pulled free of his fingers and bounced back into place.

"Well, Elijah has been the only person around here I've really been able to talk with," Bonnie pointed out, pulling her legs up under her. "I like him. He knows a lot about witchcraft and magic."

"He's still in love with Katherine," Klaus, staring down at the floor, told her.

"That was random," Bonnie answered, confused.

"I just don't want you getting too ... _attached_ ... to him," Klaus told her, his eyes locking on hers. He looked almost angry. If Bonnie hadn't known better, she'd have thought he looked jealous. "Attachment leads to weakness, and I need my witch to be strong."

"Attachment ... _caring_," Bonnie corrected, completely missing his use of _my_ with regards to herself, "makes you strong."

"It makes you vulnerable," Klaus argued.

"It gives you a reason to keep going," Bonnie countered. "How could you have spent a millennium with nothing to look forward to? What's the point of living?"

"I have things to look forward to," Klaus answered. "Breaking the Sun and Moon Curse. Well, that one's done now, so I can check that off my list. Killing Mikael. Soon to be done. Reuniting my family."

"You care about your family," Bonnie latched onto. "That doesn't make you vulnerable. It gives you something to fight for."

"They're family," Klaus said. "I have to care about them, whether I want to or not."

"That's a cold way of looking at things," Bonnie told him. "My friends? They _are_ my family. We draw courage and strength from each other. We support each other. We make each other laugh. We have each other's backs."

"But the moment someone threatens one of them," Klaus pointed out, "it makes you vulnerable. They are a weakness."

"No," Bonnie started to protest. "They aren't-"

"Like when I wanted to use Elena to break the curse," Klaus continued. "You were willing to give up your life to save hers."

"That was a choice," Bonnie said. "Freely made. No one forced me into it."

"What makes her life worth more than yours, Bonnie?" Klaus asked.

"That's a funny question for you to be asking," Bonnie snarked. "Considering that it's _her_ blood that allowed you to break that curse, _her_ blood that keeps your hybrids from dying. Had you broken the curse and Elena actually died, you really would be the only hybrid."

Klaus's lips twitched at her words, but he pretended to ignore Bonnie's answer. "You're a witch. You're no ordinary person. Yet even if it hadn't been Elena, if it had been your friend Caroline, or Tyler, or Matt, you'd have made the same decision. You'd have given up everything, your life. That makes it a weakness. A flaw."

"Elena and Caroline are my best friends," Bonnie told him. "And I've known Matt and Tyler for most of my life. It's not a matter of weakness. I would do anything I could to protect them, even if it meant dying. Because they are important to me."

"You would be satisfied living only eighteen years?" Klaus asked. "That's hardly a full life."

"If my sacrifice meant Elena, or any of my other friends, would live," Bonnie said, "then it would be worth it."

"But would your friends sacrifice themselves for you?" Klaus asked. "They are truly blessed to have a friend like you, Bonnie. But you are a rare being. You remind me quite a lot of the Stefan I liberated from his humanity. Always too busy taking care of others to watch your own back."

"You don't know what it's like, do you?" Bonnie asked softly. "You've had allies, but you've never had friends, have you?"

"I don't _need_ friends, Bonnie," Klaus said, standing up and clearly wanting to make an exit instead of arguing with Bonnie; her words had stung more than he cared to admit. In a thousand years, he'd only ever had one true friend, and even that friendship had ended decades before. "I have myself."

With those words, he stormed out of the room, leaving Bonnie to contemplate his perspective.

. . . .

. . . .

Elijah left early the next morning. Bonnie was awake to see him off with a hug, and he promised her he would send her ingredients as he came across them.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was halfway through her shower when it happened.

She was just shampooing her hair when she saw it; black, hairy, and walking around on the inside of the shower surround near her face. Before she could stop herself, she screamed and jumped, almost falling out of the tub in her hurry to get away from the spider. She stepped out and stood up, giving the arachnid a panicked look.

The door burst open, and Bonnie screamed again as Klaus raced into the bathroom. She hastily grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself, trying to cover up everything, but only succeeding in just barely covering her lady parts.

"What's wrong?" Klaus asked, grabbing Bonnie's upper arms and searching her for any sort of injuries.

Bonnie, unsure whether she was more embarrassed over her nakedness or over making such a fuss over something as small as a spider, flushed beet red.

"Are you okay?" Klaus asked, looking around the bathroom. It was empty other than furniture and the two of them. "What made you scream?"

Bonnie was too embarrassed to speak. She glanced back at the shower, saw the spider still clinging to the tub surround. Klaus followed her gaze, spotting the object that had caused so much furor.

Realization struck, and Klaus laughed. He released her arms and stepped back. "The big bad witch," he teased with a smirk, "scared of a teeny, tiny spider."

"That's not teeny," Bonnie told him. "And all spiders take on an inversely proportional size to your level of nakedness." Klaus lifted an eyebrow, as if waiting for her to expand upon her theory. "The fewer clothes, the bigger the spider looks."

Klaus had finally relaxed enough to enjoy the situation properly, and he dropped his eyes down Bonnie's towel-clad body, from her face, to the amulet resting just above her towel-covered chest, to her long legs down to her toes and back up.

"So, this spider must have looked _huge_," he said, not taking his eyes off her barely covered flesh as a fresh smirk crossed his face.

Bonnie flushed again.

"If I'd been dressed, he'd have been dead," Bonnie said, determined to defend her mortifying moment. "But in the shower I just feel defenseless."

Klaus grinned. "Maybe I should stop by your showers more often."

"Shut up," Bonnie told him. He quirked an eyebrow and turned to leave. "Wait!"

Klaus turned back around. He knew what she was going to ask, but he wasn't going to do anything until she actually did ask. No point in making it easy on her.

"Please take _that_ with you," Bonnie requested, pointing at the spider.

"And what will you do for me?" Klaus asked, mostly teasing.

"I'll buy you some bigger towels," Bonnie answered, getting a laugh out of Klaus as he reached into the shower to catch the spider.

"I don't know," Klaus said, heading for the door with the spider. He glanced back over his shoulder. "I kind of like these ones."

With a final smirk that made Bonnie blush again, Klaus left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie stood at the edge of the workshop, leaning against the open doorway, and watched as Klaus sawed a long piece of wood, and as he clamped it into something that shaped it. He knew she was standing there watching him, he always knew; he could hear her footsteps long before he could hear her pulse, even when he didn't look up to find her. But as usual, he pretended that he didn't notice she was there.

She still had a hard time believing that the arrogant, spoiled hybrid was capable of such mastery of carpentry tools as he seemed. But seeing was believing, and she couldn't deny that he was talented at woodworking. He'd been replacing bits and pieces of the house since they'd moved in, and his work was every bit as good as the original carved pieces, if not better.

Klaus had removed the piece and was studying it. "Would you like to see?"

Bonnie started at the question, and then she looked behind her to make certain Klaus was talking to her. He never spoke to her while he was working on things. Ever.

She heard him chuckling at her surprise. "Yes, you," he said. "Get over here."

Bonnie walked over to him.

"What are you working on?" she asked, curious. He held the wood out to her, and she ran her fingers over the smooth surface.

"A new bannister and rails for one of the staircases," he answered, his face flushed with pride. Bonnie was amazed he could be so proud of something he'd created, not because she thought he shouldn't be proud of it, but because she was surprised that he took so much pleasure in it. It didn't fit with the pampered brat image she had of him in her head.

"It's beautiful," she answered, smiling up at him and receiving a glowing smile in return. Klaus took the rail from her and gently brushed his fingers along her arm, silently asking her to follow him over to another work table, where he had several finished pieces. She ran her fingers along the finished rails. "You do incredible work." She glanced up at Klaus to find him beaming at the praise. "You really love this kind of stuff."

Klaus pointed out a block of wood he was working on.

"My masterpiece," he told her.

It was hand carved, and it featured vines, leaves, and butterflies. Bonnie's eyebrows lifted, but she knew better than to admit her surprise. Clearly, there was more depth and gentleness to Klaus than she knew; hell, more than anyone knew. She reached out and touched the carvings. Remembering a spell she'd learned recently, she closed her eyes and whispered a few words.

"What?"

Bonnie opened her eyes to see the vines growing, and the butterflies flapping their wings. Klaus looked amazed at the transformation to his carving.

"It's just a simple spell Elijah taught me before he left," Bonnie said, smiling down at the wonder on Klaus's face.

As soon as Bonnie mentioned Elijah, it was like a switch was flipped inside Klaus. The smile disappeared from his face, and storm clouds darkened his eyes.

"I'd best be getting back to work," he said, standing up and walking back over to the saw.

Bonnie was stunned at the sudden dismissal. She didn't know what she'd said or done, but something had upset Klaus. Aware that Klaus no longer wanted her company, she walked out of the workshop, glancing back only at the door to find Klaus transfixed by his work.

. . . .

. . . .


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Ten**

. . . .

. . . .

Just after Thanksgiving, which had passed with pretty much no notice in the household, Bonnie decided she wasn't going to let Christmas pass by without some sort of fanfare. So she went shopping, and when she came home, it was with a carload of Christmas decorations.

Klaus wandered into the living room just as Bonnie was putting the finishing touches on the tree.

"What's this?"

Bonnie jumped, startled out of her peaceful decorating. She'd gotten so into the Christmas spirit, she'd forgotten she wasn't alone in the house.

"Christmas is coming," Bonnie told him.

"I've seen a thousand Christmasses," Klaus told her. He looked thoroughly unimpressed by the season and by Bonnie's excessive decorating.

"And I don't care if you don't celebrate it," she continued despite his lifted eyebrow. "It may be something you've seen a thousand times, but I haven't. For me, it's still tradition. It still means something."

Klaus looked like he was having a hard time not grinning, and Bonnie turned up her glare.

"Fine," he conceded, turning away and heading for the stairs before turning back. "But you're responsible for all the decorations. And don't expect any presents." And he disappeared up the stairs.

"I wouldn't want a present from you, anyway," Bonnie said under her breath. She was sure he'd heard her anyway. She turned back to her decorating.

. . . .

. . . .

_December 6_

When Bonnie came home from her evening Cryptozoology seminar, Klaus was sitting alone in the living room, drinking whiskey in front of the fire. Curious, Bonnie set her backpack down next to the door and walked over to join him.

"I'm surprised you're still here," Bonnie said, knowing that once darkness descended, Klaus would take off to either party or to find ... food. It was rare of late for him to just sit around in the living room after dark, though he would do so sometimes when he wanted company.

"Have a drink," Klaus invited, pointing to the table beside the fireplace. Klaus had placed at least a dozen new bottles of liquor on it, and a handful of small glasses.

"Are you expecting company?" she asked, noticing the many glasses as she went over. She picked up each bottle in turn, setting each one back down until she found one that looked okay, a lemon-flavored gin, and she poured herself a glass.

"No," Klaus said, staring into the fire.

Bonnie took a seat next to him on the sofa. Klaus was acting more quiet than usual. "Is everything okay?" she asked, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Klaus glanced at Bonnie's hand, and she resisted the impulse to pull her fingers away. She would not let his moods scare her.

"Today is my name day," Klaus told her.

"Congratulations!" Bonnie said, not really knowing what she was congratulating him for. "What's a name day?"

"It's like a birthday," Klaus told her, "except that it's based around the name of one of the saints."

"So, like Saint Nicholas?" Bonnie asked. "Santa Claus?"

"I am no saint," Klaus told her. He smiled grimly. "But basically."

"If today's your name day," Bonnie asked, "then why do you seem so sad?" She took a swallow of her gin. It was a little harsh, but a second swig went down smoother.

Klaus was quiet, as if he was debating whether to speak, or how much to tell her.

"When I was a child," Klaus began, "name day celebrations were celebrated village wide. We didn't celebrate every day, but if anyone had a name that fell on a saint's day, we did." He paused, as if reliving the memory. "Elijah's falls in February, but both Rebekah's and mine are today."

"You miss her," Bonnie said, sympathetically.

Klaus, glancing at Bonnie's nearly empty glass, stood up and walked over to the liquor. He refilled his glass, and then he filled another glass with gin.

"My family always had special celebrations of our own on our name days," Klaus told her as he sat back down and handed the glass of gin to her. She quickly finished the last of her first glass and set the empty glass on the end table next to the sofa. This was the first time Klaus had _ever_ really spoken of his family in anything more than just an abstract way, and despite herself, Bonnie couldn't help but be curious about his childhood.

"We would all take a holiday for our name days," Klaus continued, sipping more whiskey. "And then we'd take a family picnic, or we'd find something special to do for the day, culminating in the village-wide feasts."

"That sounds like a wonderful tradition," Bonnie told him, wishing she'd had something like that growing up. But with it being just her father and her, while they'd do something special for her birthday, it was never a full family occasion.

"It was," Klaus reminisced. "For a while."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked, leaning towards him as she swallowed more gin.

Klaus smiled bitterly. "Today was the day we all became vampires," he told her. "Mikael chose my name day for it."

Bonnie was stunned. She reached out and grabbed Klaus's hand, giving it a supportive squeeze. To her surprise, Klaus squeezed back, not releasing her fingers.

"Mikael sounds like a very cruel man," Bonnie said.

Klaus was quiet for a couple of minutes, lost in the past. "He never wasted a chance to humiliate me. There was one time Elijah and I were sparring with swords, just playing and having some fun, and Mikael had to interrupt us. Swordplay was for defense, he told us. Not for games. And then he proceeded to show me, in front of the whole village, that he was a better swordsman. He could have killed me that day." Another lengthy pause. "Sometimes I wish he had."

"You don't mean that," Bonnie told him, leaning lower to catch his gaze. "If you wanted to die so badly, surely there was some sort of way."

"No," Klaus answered, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "My _mother_ ensured that. While the vampires we create have no natural immunity to the sun or to being staked by any sort of wood, we aren't subject to the same weaknesses. Our blood is _pure_, and undiluted." Bitterness was evident in his words. "So, if you were turned by me, or by Elijah, or by Bekah, you would be a first generation vampire, and each generation beyond becomes weaker." He stood up and went to get more whiskey. Bonnie finished off her second glass, feeling a little bit light headed, but not disliking the sensation of warmth that flooded her.

"So, Elijah turned Trevor," Bonnie guessed. "Who in turn made Katerina Petrova into a vampire, and Katherine turned Stefan and Damon. First, second, third, and fourth generation vampires."

Klaus returned with two glasses of liquor and handed one to Bonnie. "And so on, and so on," he said, pulling his legs up under him and focusing on the witch. "And how messed up is your family, Bonnie? You've never really mentioned them to me."

"My family is pretty boring, actually," Bonnie answered. "My mother left when I was a little girl, and I haven't heard from her since. So, it's basically my dad and me, unless we go to visit my aunts and uncles and cousins."

"You carry the Bennett witch bloodline," Klaus reminded her.

"Yes," Bonnie agreed. "Through my grandmother, Sheila Bennett. And all the way back through Emily Bennett, who served Katherine during the Civil War. And for generations before that."

Klaus just studied her for a moment, as if deciding whether to say something or not, before he decided against it. He just smirked quickly.

"Well, enough of depressing family talk," he said, determined to change the subject. "Let's lighten the mood some."

"How?" Bonnie asked, not sure what he wanted to discuss.

"What about your love of spiders?" Klaus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Bonnie blushed. "_You_ are so not funny," she told him, but she couldn't stop from laughing anyway. Her laughter stopped, however, when she saw the expression on the Original hybrid's face, both intense and focused.

The next thing Bonnie knew, Klaus had his mouth pressed to hers. She slid her empty hand against his chest, initially to push him away, but as his tongue slid across her lips, a gasp escaped her, his tongue slipped into her mouth, and her fingers tangled in his shirt, dragging him closer. Her glass tumbled to the floor, spilling gin across the rug, as her other arm went around him.

Bonnie didn't think, she just reacted, sliding her hand under Klaus's shirt and feathering her fingers up his chest. His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her closer as his tongue wrestled with hers. The thumb on his other hand brushed her nipple and she gasped at the sudden sensation.

Klaus's lips slid across her jaw and down to the hollow between her jaw and her neck. She felt the brush of fangs against her skin, but he didn't bite her. She grabbed the back of his neck, intending to drag him down atop her.

And then the front door slammed open, and half a dozen hybrids stepped into the living room, quarreling in loud voices.

"Perfect f*cking timing," Klaus said. Bonnie could tell he was pissed as he pulled away from her.

Now that Klaus wasn't touching her, Bonnie's common sense trickled back in. What the _hell_ had she been doing? Had she been making out with her mortal enemy? The hybrid who'd tried to kill her best friend, and who had killed her best friend's aunt? She swallowed hard, knowing she couldn't deny her attraction to him anymore.

_But I can keep from doing anything about it_, she told herself as the hybrids moved over to stand in front of Klaus. She stood up from the sofa, and unnoticed, slipped from the room.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was less than excited for the evening's meet and greet, more because Klaus was acting like an ass than for any other reason. He hadn't said a word to her about the fact they'd been close to having sex in the living room a few days before, and his foul mood had prevented her from bringing the subject up as well. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong, but she seemed to get the brunt of his annoyance.

Tonight they were going to be meeting up with Victor DiCenzo and his second at a catered party, but unlike the other meetings, Klaus was going into this one in a foul mood, and he kept taking his temper out on her, which only darkened her own mood.

"Now remember," Klaus said, catching her arm roughly and stopping her on the walk into the mansion of the man hosting the party. Bonnie tugged her arm free and glared up at him. "Keep your hands to yourself tonight. We don't need any more incidents like we had with Baltman."

"That won't be a problem," Bonnie told him, her eyes darkening angrily. What would be a problem would be acting like she and Klaus were on the same team. It wasn't good protocol to show the people you're bargaining with that you can't even get along in your own camp.

"Good," Klaus bit out, turning away and striding towards the door. Bonnie sucked in a deep breath and followed after him. She silently cursed him out for not helping her up the stairs in her heels. Part of her wished she was there with Elijah, because she knew he would help her, but then again, she wouldn't be there at all since Elijah wasn't trying to ally with werewolves.

It was a good hour or so into visiting with random people before Klaus rejoined Bonnie. She'd been speaking with an older couple from England, and he touched her elbow, sending a jolt of energy through her, as he walked up behind her.

"Bonnie, darling, it's time," he said, being pleasant for the other couple's benefit. After Bonnie said her farewells, Klaus all but dragged her away. Again, she pulled her arm free.

"What is wrong with you?" Bonnie asked, furious at his rough handling of her. He hadn't said two words to her from the time she'd finally made it inside until just now, although he'd followed her around the party, always just a few feet away but never interacting.

"You know damn well exactly what is wrong," Klaus said.

"No, I don't," Bonnie protested. "I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. Or why you're acting this way."

"Leave it alone," Klaus warned. He turned and smiled, and that was when Bonnie noticed the two men walking over. She pasted a smile onto her face and greeted the werewolves pleasantly.

Fifteen minutes later, Bonnie was bored silly by all the talk of vampires and werewolves and hybrids. She'd heard it half a dozen times already.

"I think I'm going to go refresh my drink," she cut in during a pause in conversation. "Would anyone like more champagne?" The three men all shook their heads, so she nodded and smiled and walked away, relieved to be away from Klaus and the werewolves.

Bonnie didn't return to the meeting, and it was only about twenty minutes later that Klaus rejoined her, grumbling about DiCenzo getting a call from someone in the pack.

"Why am I here tonight?" Bonnie asked, the two glasses of champagne she'd practically guzzled after leaving the meeting making her bold.

"For the same reason you're at all my meetings," Klaus answered, scowling but not meeting her eyes.

"You could have brought some of your hybrids with you tonight," Bonnie pointed out. "And you clearly don't need or want me here."

Klaus turned his angry eyes on her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" Bonnie asked, setting her empty glass down on the tray of a server walking past. "You're angry with me about something, but you won't tell me what it is."

"Leave it alone, Bonnie," Klaus said, his eyes narrowing angrily. He shifted his gaze away from her.

That pissed Bonnie off royally, and she moved to stand in front of him. Klaus shifted his eyes away again.

"No," she told him. "I want to know."

"You really want to know?" Klaus asked, anger evident in every word. He finally met her furious gaze with one of his own.

"Yes," Bonnie said simply.

Before she knew what was happening, Klaus had pulled her into his arms, and his lips pressed hard, almost painfully, against hers. Bonnie sucked in a breath, unable to pull away, and worse, unsure she even wanted to. Despite the onslaught against her mouth, she found her heart racing, and she knew it wasn't from fear, or from anger. She sighed against Klaus's lips and relaxed into his kiss, even as the feel of his short stubble against her chin gentled, and his lips stopped punishing and started caressing her own. Bonnie leaned into him, her hand resting against his chest to help balance her, her fingers bunching his shirt as they curled.

Just as suddenly as Klaus had pulled Bonnie to him, he shoved her away. Bonnie stumbled in her heels, but she regained her footing. She was stunned at his behavior, and at her own.

"I do _not_ share with my brother," he said, furious, and then he turned and stalked away.

Part of Bonnie wanted to run after him and explain that there was nothing going on between herself and Elijah. The other part of Bonnie composed herself, wished she hadn't drunk as much champagned as she had, and then located the nearest private bath and was inelegantly sick.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was thrilled.

It was Christmas morning, and when she'd gone to bed the previous night, the ground had still been green, no snow in sight. Even the weather forecasts had predicted a green Christmas.

But here it was Christmas morning, and just glancing out her window, she could see the blanket of white covering the ground. She grabbed her bathrobe and slippers and raced down the stairs, through the living room and to the front door.

"What's wrong?"

Bonnie jumped. She hadn't expected Klaus to be hanging around Christmas central on the holiday. His voice held a note of worry, as if he was anticipating something awful to happen. Part of her wondered what had happened to him to make him dislike Christmas so much, although she had to admit that after a thousand years of holidays, one day probably seemed just like the next.

She pushed the deep thoughts aside. It was Christmas, and not a time to ponder a lifetime of immortality.

"Nothing," she reassured him, smiling. "It snowed." She turned back to the door, peering outside. The blanket of white wasn't deep, perhaps an inch at most, but it warmed her insides anyway.

"What's so special about that?"

Klaus sounded cranky, like he couldn't understand what Bonnie found so special about the snow, or the holiday. She turned away from the door and walked over to where he stood next to the fireplace with a glass of bourbon. Next to the Christmas tree.

"I know after a thousand years it's probably all pretty boring for you," Bonnie told him. "But I don't have a millenium of experience with this, and I never will." She stared into his eyes. "We don't get much snow in Mystic Falls, and it's always hit or miss whether we get snow on Christmas. So yes, it's special, because it's rare."

Klaus looked away, so Bonnie stepped back to admire the tree. She'd left the lights on the previous night, and it looked pretty nice, considering her limited budget.

And that was when she noticed it.

The package.

It was wrapped in red paper, with a ribbon of white surrounding it. Rectangular, and a couple of inches thick.

"What's that?" Bonnie asked, surprised to see a gift under the tree. She hadn't bought it, and Klaus had eschewed all pretense of interest in the holiday.

"What's what?" Klaus asked, following Bonnie's eyes. "Oh, that."

"Oh that?" Bonnie echoed.

"Some large man in a red suit dropped that off last night," Klaus said, staring into his glass.

Bonnie kneeled down next to it and picked it up. It was heavy, and fairly large. Attached to the ribbon was a small card that simply read "B." Clearly, she thought, the package was for her. But... She glanced over at Klaus, who looked away the moment she caught him watching her.

She pulled the ribbon off the package, and then she slid her fingers between the tape and the wrapping paper and pulled the paper from the present.

It was a book. Though, to simply call it a book was inaccurate. It was a spellbook. Bonnie opened it, amazed to find it completely blank. She glanced over at Klaus again, and this time he met her gaze.

"You have half a dozen grimoires full of spells written by other witches," Klaus told her, staring back at his bourbon as he swished it around in the glass. "I figured it was time you had a grimoire for your own spells."

Bonnie was stunned. She didn't know what to say or to think. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift, and to come from the jaded, seen-it-all hybrid who had wanted nothing whatsoever to do with the holiday, meant more to Bonnie than she could say.

"Thank you," she whispered, stepping over to him and, without thinking, standing on her tiptoes just long enough to press a kiss to his stubbly cheek. Her hand slid down his chest as she lowered herself back to the floor, and Klaus's gaze held hers; he'd been just as surprised by the kiss as she was. Bonnie's breath caught at the expression in his eyes, and she stepped back quickly, pulling her hand away from him at the same time. "Merry Christmas, Klaus."

Bonnie flashed him a quick smile before dashing out of Christmas central and heading back to the safety of her own room.

. . . .

. . . .


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting, I was having issues with the site and my beta helped me figure out what I was doing wrong. I meant for this part to be posted days ago. Thanks Jazzy!**

**I'm sorry this chapter is so short. We're almost at the end, just three more parts and an epilogue.**

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Eleven**

. . . .

. . . .

It had been five days since Christmas, and the pleasant atmosphere that had surrounded Christmas morning had long since evaporated. Klaus had retreated back into the safety of barbed words and avoidance, and Bonnie had long since lost her patience with his behavior. His moodiness, and the resultant tension, was driving her crazy. One minute he'd be distant, the next friendly and almost flirty, and the next cranky. She wasn't sure what to expect from him at any given moment.

She was sitting in the living room, reading from Emily Bennett's grimoire, when Klaus came in from the workshop carrying half a dozen rails. He'd already begun installing some of them, and he was about a third of the way finished with the job when the hammering started to get under her skin. After the second time he made eye contact with her and began pounding the rails in even louder than before, Bonnie stood up, debating whether to retire to her room, or to go over and swat him for being an annoying pain in her ass.

In the end, she did neither.

Bonnie, her heart pounding furiously, walked up to Klaus, who very determinedly ignored her while he positioned the rail and began to hammer it into place. He turned to fetch another rail, and Bonnie took the opportunity to slip into the space between him and the staircase. When Klaus turned back around, he sighed in frustration at finding Bonnie standing in front of him.

"What do you want?" His words were punctuated with a sigh, like he was tired of fighting with her, except she hadn't been aware they'd been fighting. There was only one battle she'd been waging, and that had been with herself, over what she felt and what she wanted. And she knew, looking into his eyes, that she'd lost that battle.

"This needs to stop," Bonnie told him, scowling up at him.

Klaus lifted an eyebrow, but otherwise stubbornly refused to acknowledge that he had any idea what she was referring to.

"Did I do something to upset you?" she asked, trying to read his answer from his expression. She could tell she struck a nerve, but he wasn't about to admit it. Instead, he took a step back, determined to go back to work and avoid her question.

"Dammit, Bonnie," Klaus said, trying to move around her to get to the staircase. "Get out of my way."

Irritated by his intentional avoidance of the subject, Bonnie stepped in front of him again. "Not until you tell me what I want to know."

Klaus practically growled at the witch's determination. "Leave it alone."

Bonnie breathed in deeply. She remembered his words from weeks back, his words and Elijah's. She knew that Klaus had started acting differently once Elijah had been awakened. At the time, she'd thought it had been because, love his brother as he might, he didn't trust him, especially after having daggered him a few months before. But now, she wasn't so sure.

"Elijah and I are just friends," she told him, her suspicion that Klaus was jealous of her closeness to his brother confirmed when he finally met her eyes. "Nothing more." She was quiet for a moment, watching the war of emotions in his eyes. "You know I'm telling the truth."

"Bonnie," he whispered. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't force the words out of his mouth.

Bonnie took that option away from him by reaching around behind his neck and pulling his lips down to hers.

It was like a bolt of electricity had struck her at the connecting of their mouths.

"Bonnie, no," Klaus said, trying to pull his head away from her. His arms, however, slid around behind her back, pulling her closer, and Bonnie didn't release her grip on him.

"Yes," she breathed back, pressing her lips against his again. Klaus kissed her back, but then he tried to pull free again.

"You need to stop this," he said between kisses, his arms still tightly wrapped around her.

"I don't want to," she answered, reaching the hem of his t-shirt and sliding her hand underneath and up, across the skin of his chest.

Klaus groaned and growled out her name. The battle was almost won, Bonnie knew. As her fingertips grazed his nipple, Klaus finally conceded defeat, kissing Bonnie back with unrestrained fire. They slammed against the edge of the staircase, and then Klaus scooped her up in his arms.

"If this isn't what you want," he said between kisses, "then you'd better stop me now." Instead, Bonnie just pulled his face closer and slid her tongue between his parted lips.

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus was wide awake when dawn rolled around. That wasn't like him; despite being a nocturnal predator, after a night of passion, he preferred to be snugged away and sleep until mid-morning, at the very least.

But then, that wasn't the only unusual thing about his morning.

He glanced to his left, where his arm was wrapped around the beautiful girl next to him. That was new. Klaus rarely let his conquests sleep over, and he never cuddled. There was a tenderness to cuddling that he had never felt before. Yet here he was, holding tight to Bonnie as if it was the first time he'd had sex. As if he actually cared about her.

_Ridiculous_, he thought, extracting his arm more roughly than he'd meant to. Bonnie stirred at the sudden loss of contact.

"Go back to sleep," he told her, reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled and whispered "okay" before settling back in. He rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

And then he started to panic. Klaus stared at his hand as if he'd never seen it before, as the ramifications of his actions started to sink in.

_I don't care about her_, he told himself. She was just an itch he had to scratch, and he'd scratched it - several times over, actually, he recalled fondly - last night. But that's all it was.

He glanced back over at Bonnie, whose skin was giving off a warm glow in the morning light, and he had to resist the urge to reach out and touch her another time. Scared by this urge, he almost fell out of the bed as he jumped to get away from her.

_I don't care about her_, he told himself again as he paced the room. _I don't_. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't just another conquest to him.

_I have to get out of here_, he thought. He needed some distance to get perspective. By the time he returned home, his head would be back on straight, and there'd be no doubt in his mind that the witch meant nothing to him.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie woke up in a strange and unfamiliar room, in a bed that was most definitely _not_ hers. Her eyes took in all the details she hadn't been able to see the night before, from the combination of darkness and from her lips being permanently attached to Klaus's. The walls were a shade of red so dark it was nearly black, almost imitating a curtain of blood. An antique dresser lined one wall, with a matching stand by the bed. The bed was covered with black satin sheets and a pair of black satin-encased pillows. And that was all Klaus had in his room. It was spartan but luscious at the same time.

She blushed slightly and glanced at the other half of the bed. She was alone, though she could still see the impression in the mattress from his body. She ran her hand over the spot, wishing it were him that she was touching.

Memories of the events of the prior night flooded her, making her blush. She was no longer a virgin, and while a part of her wondered if she'd have regrets over that, a larger part knew that she wouldn't. She could have stopped Klaus at any time; she simply hadn't wanted to. And he'd given her plenty of opportunities to change her mind.

Bonnie sighed and snuggled back into the covers that smelled like a combination of Klaus and her and sex. Had she stopped to ask herself _why_ she'd chosen the thousand year old vampire to be her first lover, she couldn't have admitted anything to herself, but she would have been stunned by the answer.

She glanced at the clock on the stand. It was after nine. She groaned softly, wishing she could lay around in bed for a while longer, but she'd already missed more classes than she liked; there was no way she could skip her classes today. Reluctantly, she climbed out of bed, headed downstairs to grab her shower, and get ready for school. She hoped to run into Klaus before she left, but she didn't see him at all.

. . . .

. . . .

After classes, Bonnie raced home, hoping to find Klaus. She was eager to see him again, to figure out where things stood between them, if last night had meant anything to him. The more time that passed, the more nervous she became, until she was almost a wreck before the end of her last class.

Klaus wasn't home. Bonnie was disappointed, but she knew he'd be along eventually.

Eventually went well past dinner and early evening, and through another two full days. When he finally did show up, Bonnie wished he hadn't come home at all.

She was sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace, half-asleep. The grimoire Klaus had given her for Christmas was open on her lap, but she'd found herself unable to write in it. Her Cryptozoology book was laying next to her, also untouched. She was half-sick, worrying about his sudden disappearance. Yes, he was an invincible hybrid who couldn't easily be killed, but he was also, at times, an emotionally unstable psychopath, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing, or if she'd done something to set him off.

So when the front door opened, she almost jumped out of her skin. She was relieved. He was finally home. She turned to watch Klaus walk inside, looking none the worse for wear. In fact, he looked as happy as a clam, mostly because he wasn't alone.

He was laughing, and he had his arms around two noticeably drunk girls, with a third trailing behind them, all clinging to him. Too much skin, too little clothing.

Bonnie flushed, stunned by the turn of events. Only a few days ago...but no, Elijah had been dead wrong. Klaus didn't have feelings for her. He'd just gotten her under his skin, and he'd found a way to scratch that itch. She averted her eyes, determined that Klaus wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes, but he saw her sitting on the sofa just before she turned away. After a minute of quiet whispers and giggles, Klaus sent the three women upstairs.

"Bonnie," he called over to her.

Bonnie gritted her teeth, angry that he'd decided to speak to her _now_. She turned to face him, her eyes lit with anger rather than hurt. She could salvage that much of her pride, at least. Her expression said _'what the hell do you want_?'

"Make sure no one disturbs us," he said, following the girls up the still unfinished stairs.

"Oh, I'll get right on that," Bonnie cursed under her breath, knowing full well that Klaus heard her.

After Klaus and the girls disappeared, Bonnie tried to focus on the grimoire, but it reminded her too much of the hybrid she had been starting to care about, had been thinking might actually care about her, and she tossed it aside. She felt dirty, used. The tears that she'd been fighting off escaped, and she angrily wiped them away. She felt sick to her stomach. She closed her eyes and tried to settle herself, but suddenly she was full of anxious, nervous energy.

_A walk_, she decided. She needed to get out of the house.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie wasted no time distancing herself from the house. About a mile down the road she slowed, as her anger was starting to burn away, leaving only hurt in its place. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. She wasn't going to cry over that hybrid jackass.

It was a good thing for the full moon lighting the landscape. There were no street lights this far from town, and Bonnie hadn't taken the time to grab a flashlight, although she was starting to think it would be a good idea to have one on her at all times.

At one time, Bonnie would have feared the werewolves on a full moon, but since Klaus had begun creating his hybrids, there were few unturned wolves left in the area. The hybrids weren't slaves to the moon. Still, she couldn't help but feel that something wasn't quite right. She came to a stop. The trees were getting thicker on each side of the road, and the tree cover wasn't allowing much by way of moonlight penetration. The trees only created more shadows. Bonnie realized just how dark it was, and how quiet.

Too quiet.

That was all the advance warning she had. Four vampires were on her a moment later.

Their hands were all over the place, on her arms, on her shoulders, grabbing her hair and pulling her head back. She recovered enough to shove one away, and that was all the time she needed. With a wave of her hand, the four vampires flew in four different directions. In her foul mood, her emotions amplified her magic, and with a thought, the vampires went up in flames.

Bonnie fell to her knees screaming. Her head felt like it was going to explode, and the amulet burned against her chest.

The next wave of vampires didn't get within ten feet of the young witch. Her hybrid bodyguards, fortunately upped in number to six by Klaus weeks before, were on them before they could lay fangs to her defenseless body.

Bonnie knew none of this. All she knew was the agony inside her, but not for a moment did she think to remove the amulet. She thought she was going to pass out, and she fought against it on her hands and knees. She sucked in a large lungful of air, hoping that would help clear her head, but it did no good.

The next thing she knew, there was a hand on her shoulder, shaking her.

"Witch!"

Bonnie groaned. "I'm alive," she said, half opening her eyes. Fortunately, her head had stopped hurting, but she knew she must have passed out despite her best efforts not to do so. She could feel hands on her, checking her for injuries.

"We should get you back to the house," he said.

_Back to the house._

"No," Bonnie said, propping herself up on her elbows on her journey to sitting up. Even only half aware, she knew she didn't want to return to the house.

"No?"

"I'm not going back to the house," she explained. "Not...not yet." _Not as long as those blood sluts are in the house._

"You'll be safer there," the hybrid argued.

"Where's Amber?" Bonnie asked, looking around at the six hybrids surrounding her. Neither Amber or Mark were amongst them. She crawled onto her knees, and the hybrid tried to help her stand, but she brushed his hands away and stood on her own. She was shaken and a bit woozy, but she'd be fine. "And who are you?"

"Different shift," the hybrid answered. "And David."

Bonnie nodded. She looked into the dark road ahead of her, and the slightly more well-lit road behind her.

"I'm going to finish my walk," Bonnie said.

"Klaus won't like that," David told her, grabbing hold of her arm.

"That sounds like his problem," Bonnie answered. "Not mine." She tried to pull her arm away, but David didn't release it. "How close were you when the first vampires attacked me?"

"Close enough," David said.

"Then you saw what I did to them?" she asked, faking a sweet tone. She glared at his hand. David caught her threat the first time, and he removed his hand.

"I'm going to finish my walk," she repeated.

. . . .

. . . .


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks to all of my reviewers for your kind words, I love you all for taking the time to respond to the story, it means a lot to me!**

**LaKessy, thank you for your in depth reviews! I'll put you out of your misery by updating this again today ;)**

**Readers, fasten your seatbelts, here comes the promised drama/angst. You're in for a bumpy ride!**

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Twelve**

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus heard the footsteps coming up the stairs long before his hybrid pounded loudly on his door.

"Go away!" Klaus yelled, silently cursing Bonnie for not stopping the hybrid as he returned his mouth to the blonde girl's throat. The redhead reached around him from behind and started working the length of him. He growled against the blonde's throat.

The doors burst open.

"Dammit!"

Within a second, Klaus was out of the bed, and he had the hybrid slammed against the wall by his throat.

"I thought I told you to go away," Klaus said, squeezing David's throat. "I told Bonnie to not let anyone interrupt us."

"Bonnie's not here," David answered. The words came out hoarsely, and he gasped in a breath as Klaus loosened his grip.

"What do you mean?" he asked, stunned by his hybrid's words. He took a quick glance at his clock. It was after midnight. Bonnie never went out this late.

"She was attacked," David said.

Klaus raced back over to the bed and compelled the three women to leave, with no memories of anything that had transpired. As soon as they were out of the room, Klaus continued his interrogation.

"She went out for a late night walk," David said. "We followed her. About a mile down the road, she ran into some vampires."

"Vampires," Klaus cursed. He'd forgotten all about the vampires. Despite having his best people on the job, he had been unable to turn up anything about why the vampires wanted his witch. "I trust that she's safely back in her room."

David shook his head. "She insisted on finishing her walk."

Klaus slammed him into the wall. "Finishing her walk?"

"She incinerated the first wave of vampires," David said. "She passed out. After she was on her feet again, she threatened to incinerate us if we didn't let her walk." David sucked in a breath. "The rest of the guard is still with her." That appeased Klaus a little bit. "I knew you'd want to know about this right away."

Klaus released him and turned away. "Fortunately for you, she's still alive. That's the only reason you still are. Get out."

David wasted no time in leaving.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie didn't know how late it was when she returned to the house. The moon was getting fairly low on the horizon, and the sky was just beginning to lighten. She wiped her cheeks one last time, determined to erase any sign of the tears she'd shed; hopefully, Klaus was still busy with his blood food, but she didn't hold out much hope of avoiding him anyway. Her luck never worked that well.

When she stepped inside, she spotted Klaus standing next to the fireplace, leaning against the hearth and staring into the flames, his back to her.

_Damn_, she thought. If he'd been human, she might have had a chance to slip past him unnoticed. But he wasn't, and he had probably heard her coming a mile away. Nonetheless, she decided she'd just ignore him. He was the last person she wanted to discuss anything with right now.

She only managed a couple of steps into the living room when Klaus spoke.

"You sure took your time coming home," he said.

Bonnie stopped and glanced over at the hybrid. He still had his back to her. As tempted as she was to just coax the flames up to engulf him, she was aware that it wouldn't kill him, it would just piss him off, and she sensed that he wasn't too far from that now.

"I'm fine," she said, turning back towards the kitchen so she could go to her room. She pulled up abruptly when she found Klaus standing in front of her.

"That's not what I hear," Klaus said, worry evident in his eyes. He reached out to brush his fingers against her face.

Bonnie backed away, angrily scorching his fingertips with her magic. "I said, I'm fine." The instability of her emotions made her voice rise, and the lights flickered in response. The sudden surge of magic made her gasp, and she fell forward.

Klaus caught her, and she pushed him away. "Don't touch me!" She backed a couple of steps away and regained her footing.

"Bonnie," Klaus said, trying to get her to meet his eyes. He waited until she looked up before he continued. "The amulet's going to kill you at this rate."

"It's no different than what you plan to do," Bonnie said, "once I've outlived my usefulness to you."

"I don't wish you dead, Bonnie," Klaus said, his eyes darkening. "That's the last thing I want."

"Of course not," Bonnie said, the Eye of the Jackal front and center in her thoughts. "You'd destroy your precious amulet in the process." That had been the only reason he'd accepted her trade deal in the first place, and everything she'd thought was happening between them? It was all about him softening her up so she'd give it to him. With new resolve, she met his eyes, her own dark with anger, though most of it was directed at herself for being stupid enough to believe that he might actually care about her. "I will never hand this amulet over to you." She could feel the tears starting to fill her eyes again. "Never."

She walked past Klaus. He let her go. As Bonnie started up the steps, she heard his glass shatter against the wall.

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus led Bonnie into the restaurant. His witch had been unusually quiet of late, but she'd agreed to join him on this meet and greet with Carl Rebeck and his second, Andrew Meyer. If they agreed to his terms, his pack would bring his number of hybrids to seventy strong.

Klaus studied Bonnie as they took their seats at the table. She was wearing a plain black dress, but nonetheless, she looked amazing. Her curls were tousled over her shoulders, and the Eye of the Jackal was nestled in its normal place between her breasts. It was only her eyes that told him that anything was wrong. She wasn't happy, but not in any sort of angry way. She was just...broken. And he didn't know how to fix that.

As he discussed business with the other werewolves, he kept watching Bonnie, hoping to see some spark of the fiery witch he knew, but to his vast disappointment, there was no sign of her.

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus noticed Bonnie studying by the fireplace for the first time since the new year. She had been spending more and more time tucked away in her room of late. He was fairly sure she'd been avoiding him, and he had a strong idea of the reason. He just couldn't figure why it bothered her so much.

If she knew he was standing in the doorway, just watching her, she never gave a sign. Apparently she'd even given up all attempts to get under his skin and annoy him, and she was no longer letting him get under her skin. If he was honest, he missed it. He'd enjoyed the interplay, the flirting, it had provoked him in ways no one had stirred him in centuries. Most people were so easy to control, he liked her unpredictability.

Or, at least, he had. Now, he could almost guarantee her reactions to everything. There wouldn't be any. She had shut him out of her life from the moment he'd walked back into the house with those three girls after the new year. He could understand her disapproval; he'd known from the first time he'd brought someone back to the house that she hadn't liked it. She hadn't said anything, but he'd seen the fire in her eyes then, even as far back as from the first time he'd seen her, when he'd been possessing Alaric's body and she'd sworn to her friends that she'd kill him in order to protect her best friend.

But for the fire to be snuffed so completely? He didn't know how to take that. Could she care for him? Truly, feel for him against her will, against her best knowledge of his past actions? He glanced back at her; she was still absorbed in her book, and she was still not giving any indication that she either knew, or cared, that he was there.

"Bonnie," he said, pitching his voice just loud enough to get her attention.

The witch looked up from her studies. If he detected a brief moment of irritation on her face, it was gone before he could catalogue it.

"Come over here," he said, knowing that she'd comply. That's all she'd done lately. If he asked her to do something, she would do it, no arguments, no complaints. It was driving him nuts.

Bonnie set her book aside and walked over to stand in front of him. When she looked up at him, it was without the normally sassy _'what the hell do you want now' _expression she used to wear on her face. He missed it.

Klaus wasn't sure what to say to her now that she was in front of him. Maybe, with the right words, he could provoke her. Get her to show anger. Something.

"Have you heard from Elijah lately?" he asked, studying her reaction closely. Was that a twitch when he said his brother's name?

"No," she said, her face just as blank as before.

"What about Damon?" he asked, watching her blink with surprise.

"No," she answered.

Klaus almost sighed in frustration. He had to come up with something that would get more than a one word answer from her.

"How is your coursework going?" he asked, not sure what to say to get her talking.

"Fine," she answered, glancing back at her books resting on the sofa.

Klaus bit back a growl as he threw his arms around Bonnie and dragged her to him, pressing her full against his body. She spun back, startled by the sudden move, and looking as scared as a deer in headlights.

"What are you doing?"

Well, he thought. He got four words that time. But she wasn't angry; her question had come out calm, with simple curiosity. He knew what would piss her off. He crushed his mouth down onto hers.

Bonnie didn't get angry, she didn't push him away. She didn't react at all. She just stood there and let Klaus unsuccessfully try to push her buttons. When he realized he wasn't having any effect on her at all, Klaus shoved her away.

"Damn you, Witch," he said, angry with himself for letting this bother him so much. She'd found a more effective way to irritate him, and she didn't even have to try. He zipped away up the stairs, missing the small grin of amusement that crossed Bonnie's face before she returned to her schoolwork.

. . . .

. . . .

Fortunately for Bonnie, avoiding Klaus over the next ten weeks was easily done, and it became easier every day, as he spent more and more time out of the house, either working in the woodshop, or out amongst his new hybrids, and when he'd come home, she'd be safely tucked away in her room, where she couldn't watch him parading his nightly skanks through the living room. She'd begun spending a lot of time in her room, even when she was practicing magic, because it was now much too cold to spend any amount of time outside or at her herb garden, although she still buried the ingredients Elijah was sending her in it, knowing it was safer to keep them out of the house, where Klaus was more likely to find them. Luckily, Bonnie felt like Klaus was avoiding her as well, which made it much less difficult to keep herself, and her spell ingredients, out of his way.

It helped a little that she'd kind of met someone else. She didn't know him very well, but she liked what she knew of him.

His name was Owen Bradstreet, and he had short dark hair and an easy smile. He was in her Cryptozoology class, and they'd become study partners about a month after what Bonnie was mentally referring to as the 'Klaus Incident.' Since then, they'd become friendly and had gotten a few meals together on campus.

Owen walked up to Bonnie after their class Friday afternoon. "So, you ready for tonight?"

Bonnie smiled back at him, excited to be going on her first official date with him. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus awakened Saturday morning and was relieved to find that the three women he'd brought home with him the previous night had already taken off. That meant he didn't have to chase them away. He settled back into his bed and listened, as he did every morning, for her heartbeat. The one thing that always made him feel calm in the mornings, and occasionally during the middle of the day and evenings, was listening to Bonnie's heart, because even when she wasn't right in front of him, he always knew when she was somewhere in the house. He always felt better when he knew she was safe. When she was home.

He knew he had hurt her; he could see it in her every time his eyes found her; he'd seen it the night after they'd made love when he'd brought his little band of blood whores home with him, because they were safe, they were not at all a threat to his peace of mind, to his way of life. He'd seen it when he'd stopped seeing her around the house; it was _his_ fault she was avoiding him, and he felt badly about it, but he felt all sorts of confused and messy feelings over her. She'd been a _virgin_, for Lucifer's sake! He was a thousand year old _abomination_, and he'd taken her innocence. She hadn't stopped him, she hadn't even tried, but when he'd entered her and realized, he'd been overwhelmed. He'd carried on, but he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she'd given him such a gift, especially afterwards.

Klaus calmed his thoughts and listened. And he couldn't believe his ears, so he tried again. He heard nothing.

He almost fell out of his bed in his haste to get up. Maybe he just had to get closer. He raced down the stairs and stopped outside Bonnie's bedroom, and he listened again. Nothing. Fear shot through his veins, and he shoved her door open, hoping that he had simply gone deaf. But her room was empty, her bed hadn't been slept in. He ran to the front door; her car was not in the driveway. She hadn't come home last night.

Klaus grabbed his phone and spotted several missed calls from his hybrids, so he called Amber, one of the hybrids he'd set to keeping an eye on Bonnie, to make sure nothing had happened to her. Amber reported back that she and her partner had lost her on campus; that she'd gone back to the college after her classes were over, and they'd hung back so as not to be seen, and when they finally had gotten curious and gone to look for her, she'd disappeared. But her car was still parked at the school.

Klaus hung up, worry flooding him. He prayed that nothing had happened to her. What if the vampires who'd been after her had attacked? Did they take her? Did they kill her?

His phone rang. It was Petra, another of his hybrids. He snapped, "What is it?" into the phone.

"Do you want us to go look for her?" she asked, having heard about the missing witch from Amber's partner.

"Yes," Klaus answered. "All twelve of you."

Klaus sat in front of the fire, downing whiskey, for hours, waiting for word, hoping that Bonnie would just come home safe and sound. But his phone didn't ring, and Bonnie didn't come home. And he continued pouring whiskey into himself.

. . . .

. . . .

The weekend passed as though it were another thousand years for Klaus. There was no word on Bonnie; she hadn't been discovered alive or dead.

And then the call came. It was Monday morning.

"She just got out of a vehicle at the college," his hybrid reported, "and she's headed for her car."

Klaus breathed a heavy sigh of relief that she was alive, and apparently in good enough condition to walk to her car. But then fear for her life began to turn into another fear; the fear of betrayal. Had she betrayed him to his father? But no, Mikael was still safely ensconced on the east coast. Had she gone back to Mystic Falls? Maybe she'd just gone away for the weekend with friends? It wasn't like he was on the top of her list of people to explain her actions to, and she didn't need his permission to leave, but his worry and fear began to turn to anger. By the time he heard her car, and he recognized it by the way it almost wheezed a bit as it headed up the hill, he was furious.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie stepped out of her car and shivered in the cold morning air as she looked up at the dark and imposing house in front of her. She was a little nervous about walking back into the house after having spent the last three nights at Owen's, but she was fairly certain she wasn't going to run into Klaus. After all, he was never up before nine or ten at least, and especially not when he'd had his blood sluts with him, and besides, he probably hadn't even noticed, or cared, that she was even gone.

Bonnie exhaled and started for the house, thinking about how she'd be seeing Owen again in a few short hours for class. She spent a minute cleaning the snow off her sneakers, and then she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Bonnie almost jumped out of her skin, and she turned to find Klaus sitting on the sofa, looking every bit the angry hybrid. Apparently she'd misjudged his waking time, or his investment in her disappearance for three nights. She cringed inwardly, having hoped to avoid him altogether. Before she could blink, he was standing in front of her, just a few inches away. He smelled like whiskey; he must have been downing it for hours, she realized. He began circling her, like he'd circle prey.

"With a friend," she answered, sucking in a deep breath. Somehow, she knew this wasn't going to be pretty, but she was determined to not let him intimidate her. Still, she felt her pulse speed up, and she could feel adrenaline starting to surge through her veins. Fight or flight, she thought. She wished it could be the latter, but she had a feeling it was going to be a fight.

Klaus, planting a hand on the back of her shoulder, leaned in from behind her, close to her throat, as if smelling her skin. Bonnie felt his nose touch her neck, and she jumped again.

"What are you doing?" she asked, alarmed by his strange behavior. She was half afraid he might kiss her, and half afraid he might bite.

"Who is he?" Klaus asked, stepping away from her throat. "Your ... _friend_."

_Shit_, Bonnie thought. _He _was_ sniffing me_. _He can smell Owen on me_. Better to take an offensive stance than a defensive one. Still, her words came out sounding defensive. "Why should I tell you?"

"Did you f*ck him?" he asked, circling again, then stopping in front of her. There was a scowl on his face, and the lines of tension on his forehead told her just how angry he was.

"What?" she said, startled by the blunt question, and by Klaus's interest in the matter.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Klaus said. His voice was low, dangerous. Full of barely contained rage, and his words scared Bonnie more than she was willing to admit.

"What I did or didn't do with him is _none_ of your business," Bonnie told him, her own anger starting to kindle. What right did he have to question her about her love life? Especially after using her as thoughtlessly as he had, then taking right back up with his blood whores.

"I will not share you," Klaus told her, using his fingers to lift her jaw. He stared into her eyes, almost as if he wanted to compel her, but Bonnie knew that to be impossible, because he couldn't compel a witch. Still, his eyes were telling her that this point was one he was _not_ willing to compromise on.

"I am not yours to share," she answered, angrily meeting his eyes as she pulled her chin free of his fingers.

"End things with him now," Klaus ordered.

Bonnie glared up at him defiantly. How _dare_ he think he could order her around? He wasn't her boyfriend, he'd made _that_ perfectly clear, and he certainly wasn't her father. And if he thought she was just going to follow his orders, like a good little soldier, he'd better think again.

"End things..."

"No way in hell," Bonnie told him, her lips pressed together in an angry glower.

"...or I will."

Bonnie had to fight to restrain herself from sending the overbearing hybrid flying across the room. "You have no right to tell me what to do," she pointed out. "And besides, you don't even know who he is."

"My hybrids have been following the car that dropped you off," Klaus informed her, proving that even if he didn't know _who_ Owen was, he certainly knew _where_ he was. "A blue Malibu, Oh-Four, license number GX3-"

"Your hybrids?" Bonnie caught, feeling sick over the invasion of her privacy. How could she have forgotten? "You've been spying on me again?" At least the last few times, the hybrids had come in handy, helping her to fend off vampires who'd attacked her. But this time, it was more than just her life at stake. It was her privacy, and her happiness.

"Guarding you," Klaus corrected.

Bonnie was pissed. "You said I could come and go as I pleased."

"Within reason, love," Klaus said, almost managing to sound reasonable. "How am I supposed to protect you if I don't know where you are?"

"I don't need you to protect me," she pointed out, glancing at the expensive crystal vase on the stand next to the sofa. She was ready to scream. How dare he try to act like a scorned lover when he'd been the one doing the distancing? The vase flew against the wall and shattered, spraying glass and water several feet in all directions. Bonnie almost jumped in surprise, aware of the sudden surging of both her emotions and her powers.

"Now, now, love," Klaus said, trying to calm her down after the unnecessary reminder of her abilities. He was angry with her still, but he was relieved that the Bonnie he knew and... that the Bonnie he knew was still alive inside her. "No need to take your anger out on the inanimate objects."

Inanimate objects. _Shit_. Bonnie shut her eyes as realization came to her. He hadn't been worried about her at all. No, it was fear that something would happen to destroy his prized amulet that had him so upset with her. He didn't care about her; she'd been stupid to even suppose he did.

"This is all you're worried about," Bonnie said, reaching down and grabbing hold of the amulet. She pulled the chain over her head and held the talisman in her hand for a second. Despite her previous vow to never part with the amulet, she'd had enough. If he wanted it so badly, it was his. "So take it." She tossed the jeweled necklace at Klaus.

The moment she released the amulet, Bonnie felt dizzy, weak, and she stumbled forward. Klaus, ignoring the pendant as it hit him in the chest and fell to the floor, reached out to catch Bonnie.

Bonnie managed to right herself before Klaus could put his hands on her. "Don't touch me!" She stepped back a couple of steps, away from him, taking a deep breath as she regrouped. She blinked and realized that her eyes were starting to water. Her voice caught with emotion. "You have what you wanted. I'm going home to Mystic Falls." She turned and took a step towards the kitchen, and Klaus cut her off.

"You can't leave," he told her in a calm voice, stepping in front of her to block her path. "We made a deal, Bonnie, and I haven't broken it. And I won't let _you_ break it."

Bonnie glared up at him, tears of hurt and frustration welling up in her eyes. "I hate you," she said softly, but it was enough for Klaus's heightened hearing to pick up as loudly as if she'd screamed it.

Bonnie watched as the anger left Klaus's face, replaced by what she'd have said was a hurt look, if she didn't know how little he cared for her. The thought stabbed at her, and she felt the tears that were waiting to fall begin to slide down her cheeks. Embarrassed on top of hurt and angry, she shoved Klaus out of her way and ran for the stairs. Klaus, still stunned by her words, didn't even watch her go.

The thousand year old vampire turned hybrid could only barely process what was going through him. He hurt, in a way he never knew was possible. His feeling hurt scared him, and the tumultuous feelings swirling through him scared him even more. He felt helpless, and feeling helpless always made him angry. He sped over to the lamp and picked it up, chucking it against the wall, where it landed in pieces next to the vase Bonnie had broken. He grabbed a painting off the wall and smashed the frame on the floor. More things, whatever he could reach, went flying, until he was tired of throwing and smashing and breaking. When he stopped, he realized that his cheeks were wet. He swiped his hands across them angrily, but calmer, before he spotted the amulet on the floor.

Klaus walked across the room and picked it up. It was pulsing with life, energy, Bonnie's energy, her power. It suddenly hit him that within the last few minutes, he had _finally_ gained possession of something he'd wanted for the better part of a millenium.

But he'd lost another, something more rare, far more difficult to find, and infinitely more precious.

. . . .

. . . .


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I love you all! And the roller coaster continues!**

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Thirteen**

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus sat on the sofa, staring at the amulet clasped loosely in his hands. It was something he'd wanted for centuries, but right now, holding it, it felt meaningless without the witch it had been attached to for the past year.

It took him a long while to decide what he was going to do. Then he zipped out of the living room and put the amulet in a safe place. Afterwards, he sped back downstairs and outside, where Petra stopped him.

"I'm going to go for a run," Klaus told his hybrid. "Make sure Bonnie doesn't leave the house." He didn't know what he'd do if he came back and she simply wasn't there.

. . . .

. . . .

It was late afternoon when Bonnie woke up. After her argument with Klaus that morning, she'd run upstairs and cried until she couldn't cry any more, and she'd fallen asleep in exhaustion. She decided to go wash her face, as she had to look like a mess. She slid her feet off the bed, and then she put a hand out to balance herself. Her hand came to rest on the table next to her bed, and she pulled her hand away in surprise, almost stumbling. She righted herself and looked over at the table.

It couldn't be, but it was.

The amulet was sitting on the table next to her bed.

. . . .

. . . .

After a quick shower, Bonnie grabbed the amulet from her room and nervously ventured downstairs. She needed to speak with Klaus, but at the same time, she was terrified that he'd be there waiting for her, to engage her in another screaming match, or worse.

Cautiously, she peeked into the living room. Klaus was sitting on the couch, a glass of whiskey in his hand, staring into the fire. The serious expression on his face told her that he was just as upset about their earlier argument as she was. She sucked in a deep breath and stepped into the room.

"You gave it back," she said hesitantly, dangling the amulet from her hand.

Klaus looked up at her, seemingly startled by her presence even though he should have been able to hear her coming from a mile away. A moment later, he was standing in front of her, making Bonnie almost jump at the speed of his arrival.

He took a long swig from his glass, as if gathering his own courage, and then he set the glass on the nearby stand.

"You see, Bonnie," he said, looking into her eyes, "it's _not_ all about the amulet."

Bonnie was speechless. Klaus reached out and touched her cheek, rubbing his thumb across it gently. Her eyes widened, and she knew her heart had sped up double what it had been when she'd just been afraid of speaking to him.

"I was so worried about you when you didn't come home," Klaus said, his eyes dark with some unnamed emotion. "_You_, my little witch. Not that _damned_ amulet."

Bonnie's eyes watered, and she blinked the tears back. "I'm sorry," she whispered, suddenly not able to breathe. She took a step back, to try and relieve some of the tension, but Klaus stepped forward as she moved away. Startled, she felt her back hit the door jamb. She sucked in a deep breath, just as Klaus leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers.

It was a tentative kiss, almost as if Klaus had never kissed a girl before, gentle, testing the waters. Bonnie was scared to kiss him back, to lose herself in him again, after the last time when she'd gotten hurt. But she could tell that, for possibly the only time since she'd known him, that Klaus was scared, as well. Scared of something as simple as a kiss. And while that may have scared her before, now it simply amazed her.

Klaus pulled back. "Bonnie?" he whispered, wondering what was going on in her head, if she wanted this, or if her hesitation was because she didn't. He was much stronger than she was, and he could force this if he had wanted, but that wasn't what he wanted, not with her.

Bonnie looked up at him, stunned by his insecurity over her reaction. A small smile crossed her lips as she realized that he was just as scared of this thing between them as she was. Klaus gave her a hesitant smile in return as he rubbed his thumb across her cheek, but he didn't make any moves beyond that, waiting for her to figure out what she wanted.

And that was when she knew. She stepped forward into Klaus, lifted herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him full on the mouth. As the kiss escalated, Bonnie found herself lifted into Klaus's arms as he headed for the stairs.

. . . .

. . . .

"So, did you f*ck him?"

The quiet question startled Bonnie out of her thoughts. She turned and readjusted so she could look at Klaus, who turned and slid his arm around her waist. "What?"

"Did you f*ck him?" Klaus repeated, staring into Bonnie's eyes. There was no smile on his face as he asked, but there wasn't the same anger present as the first time he'd asked. "Your _friend_?"

"No," Bonnie answered, rubbing her hand over Klaus's abdomen. "I mean, we did fool around some, but mostly we just spent time together talking or playing video games." And while she had enjoyed the simplicity of her friendship with Owen, while there was none of the complicated head and heart games as there was with Klaus, this was where she wanted to be, wrapped in Klaus's arms and tucked into bed next to him.

"You _will_ end things with him?" Although it sounded like a question, Bonnie knew it was more of a command than a request. "I'll share you with _no one_."

"I don't share, either," Bonnie told him, pulling out of his arms and heading for the edge of the bed. "You can either have me," she slid one leg out from under the covers, "or you can have your blood whores, but you can't have both of us."

Klaus crawled across the bed and grabbed Bonnie around the waist. He slid her back across the bed with him, before rolling her onto her back and leaning over her.

"There's no contest, witch," he growled, planting his lips against hers. And then her mouth was too busy to protest any further.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie stopped by the post office on her way home from campus. Her last class of the day had been canceled, and it was still early, but Bonnie was eager to get back home and see Klaus. Things had been going so well between them lately, it kind of scared her, but she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

There was a package from Elijah in her box. She knew it likely contained the final ingredient for the re-cursing spell. Well, she'd just bury that in her herb garden, along with the other spell ingredients. She'd thought about flushing the ingredients, but after all the work Elijah had gone to gather them for her, she simply couldn't. While her head told her it was necessary to re-curse Klaus, to deny him access to his werewolf side, her heart didn't want to do that to him. She knew that he would hate her if she stole that from him, and she couldn't do that to him.

She loved him.

She'd realized it a few days ago, when she'd woken up curled up in his arms. He'd still been fast asleep, and his face had looked younger and more handsome than ever. He looked peaceful, innocent. And while she knew he wasn't, there were parts of him that craved peace and innocence, craved love.

The past two months they'd spent their time fighting and making up, and they both enjoyed the making up part much more than the fighting part. Bonnie had broken things off with Owen, and Klaus had curbed his jealousy and lack of trust, which hadn't been easy for the thousand year old vampire/werewolf hybrid who'd been taught, many times over, that he could trust only himself.

While he was still paranoid about many things, and sharp enough to cut yourself on, he'd softened around Bonnie, telling her many stories about his childhood and growing up in the village that eventually became Mystic Falls, and trusting her in ways he'd never trusted another.

And now, Bonnie was headed home from school, and she was eager to say the words to him, but terrified as well. Terrified that he wouldn't return her feelings; terrified that he would.

It wasn't yet noon when Bonnie stepped into the house, and almost before she'd set her bag down, Klaus was there, kissing her and undressing her. Bonnie led him over to the sofa; they'd never had sex on it, but it was something she'd wanted to do since they'd started having sex on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis.

Afterwards, when she lay curled in Klaus's arms, their limbs tangled, the words slipped from her mouth.

"What was that?" Klaus asked, half asleep.

"I love you," Bonnie repeated, wishing the words hadn't slipped out just yet. She felt the moment he woke up, when his body went on full alert.

"Get out," he hissed, pulling free from her arms and rolling off the sofa.

"What?" Bonnie was stunned. Was he kicking her out for telling him she loved him?

"I said get out," Klaus said, pulling on his pants. He tossed a shirt at Bonnie.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked, pulling the shirt on over her head.

"You need to leave," Klaus told her. "Now." He chucked the rest of her clothes at her. Stunned, she pulled her jeans on, wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Klaus?" she asked, wanting some explanation for his behavior.

"Go!" he screamed, making Bonnie flinch.

"I don't understand," she said, trying to figure out what was going on inside his head.

In answer to her question, Klaus sped over to her and slammed her into the wall, making her cry out. She saw his eyes change, the veins pop out around his eyes, just before he bit her.

Bonnie's self-preservation instinct kicked in, and she shoved him off her and sent him flying across the room. She grabbed the stuff closest to the door and ran out onto the porch, using magic to seal Klaus in so he couldn't follow her.

Bonnie stumbled off the porch in her rush to escape the house, and she fell face-first into the dirt at the foot of the steps, her palms and knees taking the brunt of her escape. She could feel the warm trickle of blood flowing down her neck where Klaus had bitten her. She was stunned that he'd done it, that he'd been so upset when she'd simply told him she loved him. He'd actually attacked her. She pressed her fingers to her throat. She was still bleeding, but she was safe, for the moment. She kept her fingers tight to the wound.

She spotted her cell phone, which had flown out of her hand when she'd fallen, a few feet away. She hurried over to it and grabbed it. _I'm free_, she realized suddenly, since Klaus had broken the contract by attacking her. There was only one place she wanted to go now, but with no money and no keys, since she'd missed them in her grab for stuff on her way out the door, she only had one option left to her. She dialed Damon's number. She was sent to voicemail, so she hung up and debated her options.

And that's when it all started to sink in. Klaus had bitten her, had tried to _kill_ her, all because she'd told him she loved him. A glance at the house showed her that Klaus was furious about not being able to get outside, but there was no way she was letting him out now. She didn't notice when the tears she'd been holding in began to fall.

It wouldn't be long before his hybrids figured out that something was up. She couldn't stay there, and while her car was unlocked, it wasn't likely to keep the hybrids out for long. She dug around her pockets, praying that the spare key was inside, but knowing it was still on the shelf in the kitchen.

"Damn," she said, closing her eyes and trying to focus. She could still get inside her car, but she couldn't drive it anywhere. She was barefoot, though both of her sneakers had made it out onto the porch with her in her escape. So maybe she could walk down to the campus, anyway.

And then what? How on earth could she possibly explain to anyone that a thousand year old killer vampire/werewolf hybrid had she'd been living with for the last year-plus had just bitten her and might have killed her, but she'd fended him off with her witchy powers?

Yeah, that wasn't really an option.

Bonnie glanced into the car and spotted the blue t-shirt she'd tossed in there when she'd gotten home; it had been Klaus's, but she'd snagged it because she'd like it. He told her it looked better on her than it had on him. She could hold that against her wound until it stopped bleeding. She opened the door and grabbed the shirt, and that's when she spotted Elijah's package, and she knew what she had to do.

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie brushed the tears from her face and slipped her feet into her sneakers. She did a quick check inside the car to make sure there wasn't anything important that she was forgetting. She knew she'd basically be leaving all of her clothing and her car behind, but there was no way she was going back into the house to get her things, not with Klaus being in there.

She could hear him inside the house, as the sound of furniture being smashed in his fury drifted out the open door. She wiped the last bit of tears from her face and sniffled defiantly, then checked the bite on her neck. It was still moist, but the bleeding seemed to have slowed, so she pulled the shirt away from her neck. There was some blood on the shirt she was wearing, but luckily it was a black shirt, so it wasn't instantly noticeable.

She stuffed the cell phone into her pocket. This was it. She looked back at the house before leaving; she knew she'd miss it, despite the less than pleasant ending.

With a last glance at the house, she headed for her herb garden. It only took her a moment to unearth the bag of items she'd buried. She knew she still didn't have anyone for the blood sacrifice she needed to bind the spell to Klaus, but she had everything else she needed, including a piece of Klaus's shirt.

The amulet was warm against her skin, and she knew that doing the spell would probably take all the power she had and then some; the amulet would give her that power, but it would probably kill her in the process. Still, Klaus needed to be tamed a bit, if she couldn't kill him, and she was the only person she knew with the ability to do so.

"I'll have to be my own blood sacrifice," she whispered, making the decision on the spot. If the spell was going to kill her anyway, she knew she was her only real option. She couldn't kill someone else to complete the spell, and she couldn't leave Klaus as the all-powerful hybrid who could kill even people he supposedly cared about.

Bonnie wished she had a knife with her, and then she thought of Klaus's woodshop. There was sure to be something she could use there. Her neck had stopped bleeding, so she gathered what she needed, grabbed an appropriate blade from the woodshop, and headed for a spot deeper into the woods.

She set up her circle as best as she could. She'd found a candle in the shop, but she didn't have her normal altar. She'd just have to make do with what she did have. In the bag, she found, to her surprise, the dagger; she'd forgotten she'd hidden that away from Klaus as well. She tucked it into the waist of her jeans and continued preparing.

Bonnie mixed together the ingredients, and she pulled the sheet containing the spell out. As she read the ancient words, repeated them several times, she used her magic to set the ingredients aflame.

"Tollam tua, et potentiam tuam tollere, et ea clauduntur. Natura requirit statera."_ I take away your strength, I take away your power, I lock them away. Nature requires balance._

She could feel the pull of the amulet, as it tugged at the magic within her.

_Just a little more_, she thought. _Just a little bit longer_.

She pulled out the knife she'd found in the workshop. It was rough edged, as Klaus had clearly used it for carving. She could use the dagger, but in her mind, there was something sacred to the Originals about it, and so she decided to stick with the wood-carving knife. She knew it would hurt, but since the magic was already going to kill her, so she had little to fear from the knife. Still, she hesitated.

_He won't be able to unlock the curse this time_, she told herself. She had no children to carry on the line, so there wouldn't be any Bennett doppelgangers. That thought almost made her laugh, until she felt another tug from the amulet.

_It's now or never._

Sucking in a deep breath, knowing it was too late to turn back, she plunged the blade into her stomach.

It hurt more than she'd imagined possible. With a gasp, she pulled the blade back out, dropped it to the earth, and staggered over to the burning ingredients, adding her blood to the mix as she fell to her knees by the bowl.

_Just a little longer_, she begged, hoping to remain conscious long enough to finish the spell. Her bloody fingers picked the spell page up again. Luckily, she could still make out the last few lines of the spell, and she spoke them as quickly as she could.

The candle flickered out, and Bonnie felt the magic flow out of her, through the ingredients, through the moonstone, which would be a repository for Klaus's power, and dissipate.

"It's done," she said, leaning back into the grass. She closed her eyes and waited for the end.

It wasn't a minute later she heard the footsteps, and her eyes popped open.

Bonnie was staring up at a tall, older man dressed in a black suit. He was old. Far older than he looked. As old as Klaus. Right away, she knew who he was. Still, she was stunned when he spoke.

"Hello, Witch," he said, smiling down at her. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name's-"

"Mikael," she finished, passing out at his feet.

. . . .

. . . .

**A/N: I used Google Translate for my Latin, so I'm sure there are probably mistakes with it but it's the best translation I could find.**

**One more chapter, and lots left to happen!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Since this is AU from before 3x09, I borrowed a few of Mikael's lines for an upcoming confrontation. ;) There's still one part left (the epilogue). And for those of you who don't like cliffhangers, you probably won't like me very much. ;)**

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Fourteen**

. . . .

. . . .

Klaus stopped destroying the furniture in the living room when he ran out of things to throw. He hadn't even noticed when the tears that were wetting his face had begun falling, but he wiped them away angrily.

_Stupid_! he thought to himself, raging inside. He'd ruined everything, not just the house, but with Bonnie. He hadn't been this upset since the day she'd told him she hated him, and that time, he'd still had the leverage of their deal to use to keep her around. But now, she was gone, and gone forever, and it was no one's fault but his own.

She had done nothing wrong. On the contrary, she'd done something right, and it had scared the hell out of him, and he'd reacted out of fear. He hadn't loved anyone in a thousand years, not since Tatia, and he'd never _been_ loved since. He hadn't realized how terrifying it could be. He was a thousand years old, and far too proud to admit that he feared anything, especially something like love, which shouldn't be scary. But it was.

And he'd f*cked up the one good thing he'd ever had in his thousand years. He'd scared her away. He'd broken their contract. He'd broken her trust in him. He'd _bitten_ her.

He closed his eyes, trying to fight back tears as another wave of guilt and regret washed over him. It was all _his_ fault. He didn't want to be alone, like he always had been. And he'd been given a gift, a chance to no longer be lonely, and he'd blown it! Thrown it away, like it hadn't mattered to him. But it did.

_He loved her._

The idea that she could mean so much to him terrified him, so much so that he'd buried it and pretended he didn't, and then she had gone and told him what he'd wanted to hear the most, and he'd screwed everything up. She would _never _come back now. He'd never win her back. If he hadn't bitten her, maybe, but now? She was scared _of_ him. Not scared of loving him, but afraid of _him_. He really _was_ the monster she'd first thought he was.

Klaus lifted and chucked the chair across the room. That was the last gasp of his rage, and he fell to his knees in the midst of the wreckage of his living room.

He'd ruined everything. He knew she'd never come back now, that the next time he'd ever see her, it would be because she was trying to kill him.

He could feel his eyes watering, and he wiped his tears away before they could fall. He wasn't that weak.

Except he was. There wasn't anything he wouldn't have done for her. There wasn't anything he wouldn't have suffered to protect her. And he'd blown it, had thrown it all away.

The feeling crept up on him, but once there, it hit him as hard as a linebacker. He was flat on his back in a second, writhing in agony. It had been a thousand years since he'd last suffered through it, but he recognized right away what she was doing.

She was re-cursing him.

He howled, though whether in pain, or in rage, he didn't know. He felt like he was being ripped in half. The sensation lasted forever, for just a few moments. And then it was gone.

. . . .

. . . .

The porch door opened, and Klaus opened his eyes, hoping beyond hope that it was Bonnie returning, even though he knew it wouldn't be. He hated her for re-cursing him, and himself for forcing her into it. No, he knew better. It wouldn't be her walking back through his door.

But he hadn't expected the person who walked in.

"Mikael," he said, stunned. No wonder he hadn't heard from Elijah since his brother had left; Mikael had probably daggered him and left him to rot. He was so distracted by his step-father's presence that he barely noticed the two hybrids who followed the Original into the house.

"Niklaus," Mikael greeted, sounding far more chipper than the reunion warranted.

"What are you doing here?" Klaus asked, torn between fury and fear. Mikael had always intimidated him, but not here, and not now. He couldn't show any weakness, especially now that Bonnie had stripped him of his werewolf half. "And how did you know I was here?"

"I've known for some time," Mikael answered, looking smug.

"Then why wait until now?" Klaus asked, surprised. Mikael wasn't one to normally avoid a confrontation. He was usually the one to force one.

"Just waiting to see how things played out," Mikael told him. " The big bad wolf. You haven`t changed. Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward." At his nod, one of the hybrids stepped forward, and Klaus gasped, all curiosity about why his hybrids were obeying his step-father gone. The hybrid was half-carrying Bonnie, who looked like she'd been drugged. She could barely stand, and her eyes were hazy and unfocused. There was blood all over her, making her dark shirt even darker as it clung wetly to her. The hybrid handed Bonnie to Mikael, who none-too-gently wrapped an arm around her throat. "Such a pretty girl, Niklaus." He stroked Bonnie's face with his free hand. "And a powerful one. Far braver and smarter than you are."

Klaus bit back a growl. He couldn't attack while Mikael held Bonnie captive. He wouldn't risk doing anything to harm her further. No matter how angry he was with her for re-cursing him, he understood her choice. Fear gripped him, fear for Bonnie more than for himself.

"After all," Mikael continued, "You gave _back_ the amulet after she gave it to you. Big mistake."

"What do you want?" Klaus asked, his heart in the pit of his stomach. His step-father knew far too much about what had gone on behind closed doors to make him happy.

"I want to offer you a choice, Niklaus," Mikael said. "The girl, or the amulet?"

"Just let her go," Klaus asked, trying desperately to not sound like he was begging. "She has no part in our feud."

"So, you choose the girl," Mikael asked, his voice low. He adjusted his grip on Bonnie's throat, and she stirred, looked Klaus's way.

_Dammit_, Klaus thought, his stomach dropping as Bonnie's eyes sought his. Mikael would use his feelings for Bonnie against him, if he could. If he gave himself away.

Klaus focused on his anger, over the spell she'd just done, causing his words to come out more harshly than he'd intended. "She means nothing to me," he said, hoping to direct Mikael's attention to the amulet.

"Pity," Mikael said. With that, he snapped Bonnie's neck.

"NO!"

Klaus was stunned; Mikael had killed both Bonnie and the amulet. But the amulet no longer mattered to him. Bonnie, on the other hand, did. Fury flooded him. He moved towards Mikael, and one of the hybrids moved forward to stop him; he ripped its heart out and advanced on his step-father.

Mikael intercepted the attack and slammed Klaus into the wall.

"So go ahead!" Klaus shouted at the man who'd raised him. "Kill me! It's what you've been waiting for!" Now that Bonnie was dead, all he could think about was joining her.

Mikael laughed. "You didn't really think I'd take any chance on putting the stake and the amulet in the same place, did you?" He turned Klaus's head to face him. "If the witch had given you the amulet, the stake would have been ineffective against you, and you could have easily turned the tables on me."

Klaus deflated. This had all been about that _damned_ amulet.

Mikael released him, and Klaus slid down the wall, heartbreak over Bonnie making him weak. He couldn't stand as grief filled him.

Mikael stepped towards the door. "You are pathetic, boy." He smirked at Klaus's incapacitation. "Weak. She loved you and instead of embracing it, you destroyed it."

"Love is weakness," Klaus said, truly believing it. After all, it was his love for Bonnie that was tearing him apart.

"Weakness?" Mikael laughed. "To what end, Niklaus? So you can live forever, with no one at your side? Nobody cares about you anymore, boy! What do you have other than those whose loyalty you forced? No one. No one! It's a strength that you'll never be able to regain." Mikael paused, knowing his next words would hit Klaus hard. "Not even when she wakes up."

At the last words, Klaus perked up. "Wakes up?" Mikael must have fed her his blood before they arrived at the house.

Mikael smirked again. "Your impulse, Niklaus. It has, and will forever be, the one thing that keeps you from truly being great." Before he stepped out of the house, he turned back for one last barb. "Pathetic. The only way she'll remain 'alive' is if you force her to drink human blood, boy. And she will never forgive you for it. Never." Mikael left the house, the remaining hybrid following him. Klaus was left alone with Bonnie's body.

_And never,_ Klaus thought, _for a vampire, is a very long time._

. . . .

. . . .

Bonnie was awake for a while before she opened her eyes. For some reason, her hearing seemed to be on overdrive, and she could hear everything. The crickets chirping, the wind racing through the trees, the sunlight streaming through the window. She could hear her heart beating, and someone else's heart beating. Two someones, it sounded like, but it was hard for her to distinguish over the other sounds assaulting her senses. Focusing on the other people in the room, she could hear them more clearly; one person was breathing calmly. The other's breathing was ragged, as if they'd been running for a while, or maybe crying.

She could feel something soft beneath her head, not pillow soft, but soft like flesh, and yet solid at the same time. A hand ran across her hair, brushing it off her face, tucking the strand behind her ear. It felt warm and safe here, for just a minute, until she remembered where she was.

Bonnie opened her eyes slowly; for some reason, the sunshine made her blink and look away. Staring into the light was impossible. She blinked a couple of times, until her eyes were able to focus on the face above her.

"Bonnie," Klaus said, smiling with relief. She'd been out for hours, and he'd been starting to worry that perhaps Mikael had lied to him about having fed her his blood.

As soon as Bonnie saw Klaus, everything came rushing back to her; Klaus biting her, the spell, her loss of magical control, running into Mikael, being force fed Mikael's blood, and then darkness. And she was knowledgeable enough about vampires to know what that darkness meant.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" she asked, sitting up quicker than she should have. Her head pounded like crazy, and the suddenness of her blood rushing from her face made her gasp. She would have slipped right back down into a laying down position if Klaus hadn't caught her.

She pulled away from his hands and scooted a couple feet away from him, through the dirt and ashes and debris of the destroyed room. Klaus was the _last_ person she wanted to see right now. The last two times she'd been around him, he'd tried to kill her and he'd told his step-father that she meant nothing to him. Not to mention that she'd just bound his werewolf side.

"Undead, love," Klaus answered, looking infinitely more sad than she'd ever seen him look.

Bonnie flinched at his random use of the word "love." He used it all the time when addressing women, but hearing him use it _now_, after his rage over the word earlier in the day, and then after what he'd told Mikael, stung more than she cared to admit.

"Oh my god," Bonnie whispered, closing her eyes again and wishing that this was all just a nightmare, and she'd wake up snug in her bed, or in bed next to Klaus, and start the whole day over again.

She was a vampire. Or, well, one step away from it. All she needed was to drink a little blood, and she would be one.

She couldn't keep up with her thoughts and feelings. She was dead. She wasn't a witch anymore, because she couldn't be both a witch and a vampire at the same time. She was a vampire! The last thing she had _ever_ wanted was to become a vampire. The only thing she had ever wanted was to grow up, find a job that made her happy, find a wonderful man to have and raise children with. She hadn't wanted magic, but once she had it, she wouldn't have traded it for the world. And now that, along with all of her other dreams, was gone. All she had left was an eternity of death, and blood, and horror.

A tear escaped down her cheek.

"It's all right, love," Klaus said, moving closer to wipe the tear from her cheek.

"Stop calling me that!" she said, moving away from him again. She brushed the tear away angrily, and then her eyes found the other heartbeat in the room. Some young guy was sitting against the wall, as calm as could be, and she realized immediately what he was there to become.

"A lamb to the slaughter," she whispered, horrified, as her hearing focused in on the guy's heartbeat. It was almost as if she could feel his pulse beating through her skin. She could hear his blood circulating in his veins, calling to her, as if begging her to imbibe. She would have closed her eyes again, but that would have just amplified the sound even more.

"You have to feed," Klaus told her, calmly, evenly, as if trying to approach a skittish colt. He stood and walked over to the guy, instructing him to stand and follow him over to Bonnie, who had backed herself as far as she could to try to get away from them both. She couldn't drink the guy's blood. She just _couldn't._

"No," she said weakly, the sound of the guy's pulse growing louder in her ears as he closed the distance between them. "Please..." she tried appealing to Klaus. "Don't do this. Don't make me do this."

"If you don't drink," Klaus reminded her, "then you _will_ die. And I won't allow that to happen again."

The guy, a young man in his mid-to-late twenties, kneeled down on the floor in front of Bonnie, still as quiet and calm as he'd been when she'd awakened. Compelled, Bonnie realized.

She couldn't do this, she told herself, despite the sound of the man's blood pumping through his veins growing loud enough to drive her insane.

"Dammit, Bonnie," Klaus said, shoving the guy towards her. "Drink."

Still, Bonnie fought the bloodlust, shoving the guy back towards Klaus.

"Fine," Klaus cursed, and for a moment Bonnie thought that she'd won. Then Klaus bit into the guy's neck, and the coppery scent of fresh blood filled all of her senses. She shivered, fighting to control the bloodlust, but losing ground considerably faster than she could hold on. Still, she stubbornly clung to her control, until Klaus shoved the guy's blood-covered neck under her nose.

"No," Bonnie whimpered, trying desperately to hold herself back as her face edged closer to the open wound. Her tongue flicked out and touched the blood, and then she was lost, closing her mouth over the guy's open wound. She sucked the warm, thick liquid into her until she couldn't take any more. It wasn't until the guy slumped over, dead, that she'd realized what she'd done.

"No," she repeated, horrified that she'd actually drained him of blood. There was a proud smile on Klaus's face, however, that told her exactly what he'd thought of it. "No, no, no, no," she said, unable to cope with the truth of her continued existence. She had killed a man, and Klaus had led him to her, had forced her hand. As much as she loved him, she also hated him for forcing her into this eternal damnation.

Bonnie glanced at the sunlight still streaming in the window. It was getting later, but the sun was still out. She wasn't certain she'd make it, but she had to try.

She bolted for the door, and she'd even managed to get it open part of the way before Klaus caught up to her and stopped her, grabbing her from behind and hauling her out of the sunlight, which had touched and burned part of one of her arms.

"Let me go," she screamed, furious with him. Why couldn't he just let her be? "I don't want this."

"I can't let you go," Klaus said softly, pressing a gentle kiss to her neck.

Bonnie flinched. "You can't keep me," she told him, struggling to free herself.

Klaus turned her to face him, and he stared directly into her eyes. She defiantly met his gaze, forgetting that without her witch abilities and the amulet, she was no longer resistant to his compulsion.

"You _will not_ go out into the sunlight without a spelled charm to protect you from the sun," he told her, and Bonnie sucked in a deep breath as the compulsion took hold. Now she couldn't commit suicide by sunlight, no matter how much she wanted to, but she still had another trick up her sleeve. He released her arms, and she backed up a step.

"I hate you," she told him.

Klaus scowled, but he stepped forward anyway, sliding a hand along Bonnie's cheek to cup her jaw. Bonnie sucked in a breath, enjoying the touch as much as it hurt her. She'd stripped him of his werewolf side. Why wasn't he doing his best to kill her, instead of being gentle?

"I love you," he told her. "I would rather you hate me and still be on this earth for me to look upon, than for you to be in the ground, rotting until there's nothing left of you."

Bonnie closed her eyes and stepped back, dying all over on the inside. Why couldn't he have said that when she'd told him the same thing? Instead of biting her and chasing her away, instead of setting all of this into motion. She'd lost _everything_ that had mattered to her because he couldn't say those words earlier in the day. Now, it was far too late for those words to make things better.

A single tear escaped Bonnie's overflowing eyes, and she wiped it away.

"We can't go back to the way things were," Bonnie told him. "I'm going home to Mystic Falls."

"Stay," Klaus implored. "I've lost you too many times today." He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, locking his hands behind her back.

"You caused this," Bonnie pointed out, "and there's no going back."

Now Klaus's eyes were full of tears as well.

"Dammit, Bonnie," he said, pressing his forehead against hers. "I can't just let you leave."

"I don't think you're going to get a choice in the matter," someone said from the doorway. He was vaguely illuminated by the setting sun, but Bonnie recognized his voice instantly.

"Damon," she whispered, never more relieved to see his face. He must have seen he'd missed a call from her and realized that something was up. Hours had passed since she'd made that desperate call.

"You weren't answering your phone, and I was worried," he told her. "I see now I was right to be."

"Salvatore," Klaus greeted caustically. "Leave before I rip your heart out."

"Not without Bonnie," Damon told him, standing his ground.

Bonnie shifted in Klaus's arms, wanting nothing more to go to Damon and leave with him, but knowing that wouldn't be possible until they'd finished with Klaus.

"Bonnie," Klaus said, desperate despite his fierce anger at Bonnie for cutting him off from his werewolf side. He could hate her later; right now, he just needed her in his life. "Please stay. I'll show you what you need to know, how to survive."

"Would you have ever forgiven your mother?" Bonnie asked, curious how Klaus would have turned out had his mother not cut him off from her love as well as his hybrid half. "If she'd been more affectionate and loving, if she'd have held onto you even after she cursed you?"

"I don't know," Klaus answered, stubbornly holding Bonnie to him. "Perhaps." He couldn't help but think of the past when the only thing that mattered to him was about to abandon him, just like his mother once had. "All I know is I need you, Bonnie. Please don't leave me."

"Klaus..." Bonnie didn't know what to say to him. She loved, hated, and feared him in equal measure, and she knew he wouldn't take the idea of her leaving, whether he wanted her to stay or not, very well. But she had to go. She just couldn't be around him right now. He'd broken her trust earlier in the day by attacking her after she'd admitted to loving him, and then he'd broken her trust again by forcing her to become a vampire by feeding her human blood against her will. "I can't-"

His lips met hers briefly.

"I love you, Bonnie," he told her. He could see in her eyes that she didn't intend to stay, but he was desperate. He had nothing left to lose, he couldn't lose her.

She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. This would be easier without looking into the tears welling in his eyes. "I'm so sorry," she said.

And then she stuck the dagger through his heart.

It was a solid blow, and she cried out as she released the blade, which she'd retrieved from her herb garden before she'd done her spell; somehow, through everything, she'd managed to hold onto it, and she'd brushed it through the white oak ash that covered the floor from the hybrid's earlier destruction of the living room while she'd been trying to keep away from the human he'd force fed her. Klaus, stunned and horrified, staggered back from the strike.

"Dammit, Bonnie," Klaus said, reaching to try and pull the dagger back out, but while his hands gripped the hilt, he couldn't free it. He looked back up at her, as sudden realization hit him. "This will kill you."

Bonnie, just as stunned by the sight of Klaus's skin beginning to lose color, met his eyes. "I know." Her eyes watered. This was necessary, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt to be the means of his death. At least she wouldn't be around to feel her heart breaking into a million pieces.

Klaus reached out and touched Bonnie's face. And then he collapsed and was still.

The waiting tears spilled down Bonnie's cheeks. She turned to face Damon, who'd moved up to stand behind her when she'd been distracted by daggering her lover. She took a step towards him and collapsed.

Bonnie could feel Damon's arms around her; he lowered her to the floor and sat beside her, cradling her head in his lap. She felt his fingers running through her hair, but she could barely make out his words.

"Dammit, Judgy," Damon said. "Wake up. You are _not_ allowed to die on my watch."

And that was the last thing she heard.

. . . .

. . . .


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Here's the epilogue!**

**Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. I am not profiting in any way from their use. The only thing I own is my plot.**

**Chapter Fifteen - EPILOGUE**

. . . .

. . . .

"So, in _my_ opinion, and you _know_ my opinion's the only one that really matters, the best representation of vampires on tv was on Buffy, but at least the ones on True Blood are somewhat scary. And they don't sparkle."

That was the first thing Bonnie heard when awareness came upon her.

The voice continued on a critique of the various vampire shows and movies that had come out in the previous twenty years. As she listened to the speaker, she started towards wakefulness, and she recognized the voice.

"Damon?"

"Spike was a total badass until -"

"Damon?"

"You're awake?"

"I guess I am," she answered, opening her eyes. The light was too bright, and she snapped her eyes closed again, and then blinked them a few times to allow them to adjust to the brightness of the room. She wasn't in direct sunlight, but it was clearly day.

"Don't you _ever_ do anything so _monumentally stupid _ever again," Damon told her, standing up and pacing around the room. "What the hell were you thinking? You _know_ those daggers kill vampires who use them."

"I don't want to be a vampire," she whispered. Of _course_ she had known; she'd planned to dagger Klaus as a human, but once she'd been turned, she'd found the idea of dying from daggering him to be ironically poetic. Even from across the room, Damon could hear the distress in her words. "How am I still alive?"

"Because of a little divine intervention," Damon answered, stalking back over to the bed and sitting back down in the chair next to it.

"What?" Bonnie asked. She attempted to sit up, and Damon reached over and helped her to lean forward while he readjusted her pillow for her. She snuggled back in, feeling slightly more comfortable, and she looked around. She was back in her bedroom at Klaus's house.

"When you collapsed," Damon answered, "I tried everything I could think of to bring you around. I gave you some of my blood. I tried giving you some of Klaus's. Nothing worked." He was quiet for a minute. "And then this woman appeared in one of the antique mirrors in the living room."

"A woman?" Bonnie asked. "Anna?" Anna had appeared to her through mirrors; it had been how she'd found the Eye of the Jackal and the spell to re-curse Klaus.

Damon shook his head. "Not Anna. Tall, with long blonde hair and a sad face."

Bonnie had a feeling she knew who the woman was.

"She spoke to me," Damon continued, "something about nature and restoring the balance, and then she said something in Latin. And I saw you stirring, so I picked you up and brought you up here. I looked for the woman again, but she was gone."

Bonnie didn't know what to make of her extended unlife. She hadn't planned to survive the daggering. She didn't want to be a vampire.

It was almost as if Damon could read her mind.

"Don't even think about doing anything stupid," he told her. "We're going back to Mystic Falls as soon as you're feeling better."

"But-"

"No buts," Damon said, cutting her off. "It's been incredibly boring back there without you."

"Damon-"

"Eternal unlife isn't really all that bad," Damon said, ignoring her. "Give me a chance to convince you of that."

"Why would I let you do that?" Bonnie asked. "Even more, why would you want to do that?"

"Because a hundred years from now," Damon answered, "I'll be stuck with just Stefan, Caroline, Katherine, and Tyler for company. I know you don't like me, but surely, you can't be that cruel."

Bonnie snorted. "So you want me alive for selfish reasons."

"Of course," he said. "Do you think I'm altruistic or something?" Bonnie snorted again. "Seriously, though, Bonnie, let me show that it's not as awful as you think it is, and if I fail, I'll let you walk yourself right out into the sunlight. Hell, I'll even give you a shove."

Bonnie fought to keep from grinning at Damon's sales pitch. She didn't want to be a vampire, but at the same time, she wasn't ready to say goodbye to everyone just yet.

"Besides, Elena would _kill_ me if I came home without you again," he told her. "An undead you is a thousand times better than a dead-dead you."

Speaking of dead...

"Where's Klaus?" Bonnie asked, looking around the room. The only thing out of place was Damon. "Did he stay dead?"

"The dagger stayed in," Damon answered. "And he's down for the count. I arranged for him to be coffined and taken by ship. The crew was instructed to lose his coffin in the middle of the ocean."

Instead of feeling relief that she wouldn't have to worry about Klaus hunting her down for eternity, all Bonnie felt was sorrow.

. . . .

. . . .

The boat swayed steadily with the waves, and the tired crewman wandered down to the cargo hold. The ship was mostly empty, but there were a couple of things in the cargo hold, and he was tired, but not so tired that he was ready to go to sleep. He took a swig of whiskey from his flask and stumbled around the room as the boat shifted.

He bumped into something, and he turned to look at what it was. It was a coffin. Plain, simple, stained brown.

"Dead body?" he whispered, mostly to himself. He couldn't believe they'd be carrying a dead body, but one never knew these days. Curiosity got the better of him, and he slid the latch open and lifted the casket lid.

It was a dead guy. Fairly handsome, young-looking, with a strange silver dagger sticking out of his chest. His breath caught for a moment, and then he laughed at himself for being stupid. He started to close the lid, and then he thought again and propped it back open.

"You won't miss this," he said to the dead guy as he gripped the silver dagger. It took a bit of work to pull it free, but once he did, he stood and admired the weapon. It was a lovely blade, and it looked to be solid silver. It was sure to fetch a pretty penny with his contacts.

He started to close the lid on the casket, but before it was all the way down, something stopped it.

"Crap," he said, lifting the lid again in order to fix whatever the problem was so he could just close the coffin and leave.

The problem grabbed him as soon as the lid was up and sank its fangs into his throat.

**THE END**

**A/N: It's kind of open-ended because I may write a sequel, but I have a lot of other fics in the pipeline so it will probably be a while before I get to it. **


End file.
